Communism with Chinese Characteristics

One of the early surprises for an English-speaking visitor to China is how little enthusiasm for democracy - how much outright mistrust - is expressed by the highly educated, sophisticated, and globalized people he meets.

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I went out for dinner tonight at a very trendy restaurant specializing in a region whose food we don't see much in the West: Yunnan. Beijingese eat early, so when we finished at 10, we were the last party in the restaurant. We'd had a lavish multi-course dinner for 6 with beer, total cost: not quite $100. The kitchen staff were sitting down to their evening meal in their smart uniforms: a big tub of rice, served into plastic bowls, with a watery vegetable stew ladled over it. I got no sense that the staff in any way resented the enormous disparity between the luxurious feast they served to their (majority-Chinese) customers and their own spartan fare. But the difference must register.

One of the early surprises for an English-speaking visitor to China is how little enthusiasm for democracy - how much outright mistrust - is expressed by the highly educated, sophisticated, and globalized people he meets. They may sometimes feel oppressed by their rulers. It's those below them that they truly fear.