OP-ED: China's New Cultural Revolution, By TONY BLAIR, Wall Street Journal, OCTOBER 9, 2009
A truly magnificent piece by Blair (or his writers) that provides a lot of nice perspective of the sort I favor:
My fave section:
Prior to 1949, China was a deeply riven and unequal society. There was a reason for the civil war and the multiple invasions of foreign powers. There was a reason for the upheaval of 1949. In the first 30 years came the completion of the revolution and the establishment of the People's Republic. But then came the Cultural Revolution.It is difficult for us to grasp the pain of that period, when China closed down and engaged in a bizarre and cruel experiment that left scars, even to this day, on those who experienced it--including many in the present leadership. Talk to those who lived during that time, when reason was turned on its head, when survival depended on the whim of officialdom, and when all independent thought was snuffed out, and you will understand how momentous the change has been since then.
The opening up of China has its ups and downs. But over the past 25 years, the number of people below the World Bank poverty line has fallen by over 80%, GDP per head has more than doubled, and Chinese entrepreneurs are among the most innovative in the world.
China is now the world's largest market for automobile sales, but it is also investing heavily in green vehicles. It is the world's second largest market for wind turbines and the third largest in solar power. Over the next decade, it will almost double its energy output from renewable sources, its cities will change much of their lighting to LEDs, and it will aim to peak its emissions in 2030.
China's universities are forging partnerships with the best of their counterparts in the West. And China is turning out more science and engineering graduates than the whole of Europe put together.
Worth reading.
(Thanks: Michael S. Smith II)
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