Some people think Americans should look to the Chinese for ideas about boosting our sluggish economy. That idea has generated skepticism in this forum in the past. The latest Bloomberg Businessweek offers us more reasons to question the value of the Chinese communists’ approach.
Charlie Rose interviews Gary Locke, the U.S. ambassador to China.
How much censorship is there in China today?
A lot. The topics that people try to engage in, talking about Taiwan or Tibetans, will be censored. But the people are very creative, and the censors are always one or two steps behind.
And human rights?
It’s getting worse. With the Arab Spring, the leaders are very fearful of some-thing similar happening within China. So there’s been a significant crackdown on dissension.
What do they fear?
I think they fear for the control of the Communist Party. They see that as people become more prosperous, they have higher expectations that the government cannot meet. And therefore there is a rush to produce the kind of economic resources that will at least soften the domestic tension.
