Mainland China: Chill the Illusions, Please

The subscription side of Monday’s Wall Street Journal had a grim reminder of the reality in the Mainland.

When one of their reporters asked China’s Commerce Minister Bo Xilai what his country might learn from India, whose economy, after decades of overbearing government mismanagement, has finally opened up and flourished as a result, the response was right out of the Marxist playbook (links to Wiki entries for Long March and Bo Yibo added by me):

“Democracy is not the ultimate goal,” Mr. Bo, the princeling son of Long March veteran and former Vice Premier Bo Yibo, declared. “We need to raise the living standards of the people.” (Cue: rent-a-clap.) “I’ve been to lots of developed countries where there are also a lot of poor people,” he added, jabbing his finger at us. (Encore rent-a-clap.) “I don’t think it’s good to separate countries into democratic or non-democratic countries.” (One more clap.)

Now, Mr. Bo happens to be one of the more enlightened Beijing bureaucrats. A former mayor of Dalian, a northeastern port city in Liaoning province, he won praise for boosting foreign investment, among other things. In his new role as commerce minister, he’s also reacted calmly to bouts of European and U.S. trade protectionism.

But despite prolonged contact with open societies, Mr. Bo still doesn’t seem to understand the secret of their success. Near the end of his huff, Mr. Bo backtracked and claimed that Beijing is “listening” to the voices of its people, and that its citizens are gradually gaining more democratic freedoms. If only it were so.

And if only the members of BizzyBlog’s Internet Wall of Shame weren’t assisting Mr. Bo and his cohort in keeping their iron grip.