For thousands of years, China was ruled by dynasty after dynasty before finally becoming a republic in 1912. In 1949, the Communist People's Republic of China was formed after the defeat of the Nationalist forces. And in 1978, Deng Xiaoping ascended to power and began a series of economic reforms.
Since then, China's economic years have been impressive, but I think the most amazing thing is that this economic miracle happened under a Communist regime.
Even though the Communist Party regulates practically every aspect of both public and private life in China, capitalism has flourished without democracy for one simple reason: The Chinese leaders want it.
You see, the Chinese government gets what it wants because that is what happens under a totalitarian regime with $1.8 trillion in its pocket.
Let me give you three recent examples: 1.Cut the air pollution in Beijing. Starting last Sunday, cars with license plates that end in an odd number are banned from the roads every other day, alternating with cars that have even-numbered plates. The Chinese government estimates that this will take one million cars off the road each day. 2.Don't break the law in China. The Chinese government does not release the numbers, but according to Amnesty International, China is the world's leader in state-sanctioned executions. The death penalty is applied to more than 60 crimes including corruption, drug trafficking, embezzlement, and even tax evasion!
