A Glimpse into China’s Closet
An article by Dan Rabkin at FrontPage shows further evidence that China’s economic liberalization doesn’t necessarily translate into political liberalization:
On July 13, 2001 the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced that Beijing had beaten out Toronto and Paris for the rights to host the 2008 Summer Games. Joy immediately spread across the Mainland, first and foremost amongst the members of the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC). Plans were being set in motion to “dump sand” at Tiananmen Square for a beach volleyball arena, the site where 12 years prior Chinese tanks rolled in and brutally extinguished a blossoming democracy movement. Seven years after the IOC’s announcement, the decision to host the Olympics is turning into a colossal strategic blunder that is “dumping sand” on China’s hopes of shedding its police state label.To be honest, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) deserves a lot of credit. In the late 1970s the communist grip over the economy started to ease and the shift to an open-door and reform policy has led to a period of real and substantial economic growth. With the highest growth rate in the world, averaging about 10% a year over the last few decades, the PRC is rapidly climbing up in the world’s economic power rankings.
In light of China’s achievements, it is not surprising that they want to show their progress off to the rest of the world. However, does China really need the world’s spotlight shining into its closet — a closet that has the skeletons of Tibet, “re-education camps,” Darfur, and Burma lurking inside?
Read the rest here.