China Politics Might Just Might Stay The Same
Posted by Dan on February 4, 2007 at 09:54 PM
The View From Taiwan Blog has published China scholar/journalist James Mann's testimony before a US government panel on U.S. China relations. This is well worth a full read, but the one sentence summary is that while everyone just seems to assume China's economic growth will lead to political reform, it just may have no real impact at all.
http://www.chinalawblog.com/cgi-bin/mt/mt-t.cgi/1746
» The China Syndrome: La Plus Ca Change. . . . China Law Blog
Lot of buzz out there regarding James Mann's new, 127 page book, The China Fantasy. I have not read the book so this post is based only on snippets from the book and on what I have read about the book. According to Mann, we have no reason to believe []
Comments
Interesting post.
Americans especially have an almost reflexive belief that as countries develop economically, they will also reform politically, to become 'more like us'.
Mann is absolutely right. There is no guarantee that this process will happen, and we would do well to review our policies accordingly.
Posted by: nh | February 5, 2007 1:45 AM
The problem that I have with Mann's testimony is that he seems to be implying that because the economic relationships with China has not produced the dramatic political changes that the US wants, the US should reconsider these economic relationships. I think an alternative way of looking at this issue is more helpful: will economic isolation be more likely to lead to the sort of political change that Mann's looking for than economic engagement?
Posted by: Hui Mao | February 5, 2007 3:18 AM
EXCELENT Link. I really think that current Treasury Secretary of the US has a grip on this... Or at least I think he does.
Posted by: the Admiral | February 5, 2007 3:55 AM
nh -- We do tend to confuse economics with wealth, I agree. We also tend to confuse education with morality and that is one I also have never quite figured out either.
Posted by: China Law Blog | February 5, 2007 11:08 PM
Hui Mao --
I like your question. I am a huge fan of democracy, but I think the expectations on China on that score are too high. Its economic growth has been incredible, but that does not mean its political growth should be expected to match it. China has a long way to go towards political freedoms, but if you go back to 1970 and look where it is today, politicallly, it has actually come an amazingly long way there as well.
Posted by: China Law Blog | February 5, 2007 11:11 PM
THE Admiral --
I think so too.
Posted by: China Law Blog | February 5, 2007 11:11 PM