[Rhodes22-list] Leaving China

[brad haslett]

This will be quick, I have to pack and have one last
family dinner before catching United to ORD.  I'm
ready to re-pollute my nose with Memphis pollen versus
Beijing dust.

Ed, Dave, Shelly - you each got part of the puzzle
right.  Ed - Never underestimate the power of Party to
go nuts when threatened.  Shelly - couldn't agree
more. If people think population control is such a bad
thing, they should feed them.  Every time I have to
drive through an abortion demonstration in Memphis I
lose control, roll down the window and ask, "how many
adopted children live in your household"? Dave - yes,
there are lots of eager and talented young Chinese.  I
hope your company didn't pay for the briefing from the
Economist Intelligence Unit.  The Economist is a
wonderful magazine but it seems they might have gotten
a bit lazy in their research and need some new
batteries for their calculator.  The number the EIU
quoted is from a recent study by the Chinese Academy
of Social Sciences (CASS).  CASS revised their
previous estimate of "middle class" from 15% to less
than 5%.  I'm all for correcting mistakes but that's
an adjustment of 130 million people.  You quoted 12
million "middle class".  Multiply 1.3 billion by 5%
and tell me what number you get. Look at the new car
sales figures intra-China for the last five years and
tell me if those numbers add-up.  Me thinks the EIU
may be reading the People's Daily a bit too much and
not consistantly at that. The very definition of
middle class is a sensitive subject with the Party and
gets revised to suit the political concern "de jeur".
Do you smell a rat?  It would have been difficult for
me to have sat through that briefing without raising
the bullshit flag.

Happy holiday, y'all.  

Brad


		
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