To: Victor Lazlo who wrote (125919 ) 6/3/2001 11:06:39 PM From: craig crawford Read Replies (1) | Respond to >> Craig, the vast majority of mainland Chinese are desparatly poor <<As recently as 1965 South Korea was poorer than North Korea—as well as the poorer countries of Africa and Asia. Today South Korea is one of the 20 richest countries in the world, an astonishing achievement over a mere three decades. Its GDP per capita is eight times India’s, 15 times North Korea’s, and already even with the lesser economies of the European Union. The western press wants to make much of the lack of human rights in China, but in 8,000 kilometers of travel we were stopped only a couple of times at checkpoints, whereas as we crossed the Stans—our fast allies—we were stopped scores and scores of times by heavy-handed police. Here in China everyone is too busy making money to poke his nose into anyone else’s business.
