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Strategies & Market Trends : HONG KONG -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Tom who wrote (1198)	1/24/1998 3:42:00 AM
From: Tom	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 2951

The book says the Chinese people can be very contrary. Always have been that way. Actually I'm re-reading the book. I'd forgotten this part. (Parentheses mine.) It says that when the government began the free-market zones it was the coastal provinces like Guangdong (naturally) that flourished. Raw goods flowed out of Hunan, Sichuan and other inland territories and were developed into products in Hong Kong, Shanghai and Canton. Relatively little money flowed back, however. In reprisal, the provinces surrounding Guangdong erected roadblocks and began charging tolls to the supply trucks headed for the coastal factories. Often they just would not let the trucks go through. Raw materials shortages forced enterprises in Shanghai to cut back production, shorten the work week. Meanwhile, those in producing regions had all the materials they could use. "The post-Tiananmen crackdown has done little to control this anarchy." "In a practical sense, governmental forms seem to mean less in China than they do elsewhere." It goes on to say that "Chinese civilisation long ago developed a unique pattern of relations between central authority and those whom it purported to govern." (purported?) Also that the "central government was a distant force. It offered a display of grandeur, which gave people a source of pride and dignity." "They asked nothing of the government and gave it very little in return." (lol) "When the emperor gave a command, his subjects bowed obediently and went on about their business. Superiors were careful not to check too carefully how well their subordinates obeyed orders, and all were satisfied. So long as no one openly questioned the emperor's authority." "Should central authorities be embarassed, however, they can act with mad fury." Reminds me of the time several years ago when Beijing declared it unlawful for citizens to mount and use satellite TV dishes. The people just ignored them. The government didn't even bother to enforce it. The name of the book is Crystal Globe. I have read and referred to it off-and-on for seven years.