Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Why China is not breaking up - Michael Justin Lee

Michael Justin Lee
Michael Justin Lee
The story - professor and author Michael Justin Lee calls it rightly a fallacy - of China imploding, keeps on making headlines. In ChinaUSFocus Michael Justin Lee argues this line of argument is false.

Michael Justin Lee:
Because from what I can see, there seems to be more than a degree of skepticism about China’s potential. In fact, whatever lies in store for China, I detect a lot of what Germans call “schadenfreude” – or taking pleasure from others misfortunes – about the problems China must face in the future. I frequently get emails helpfully explaining that I am truly remiss for failing to see that China must eventually implode because of its many challenges. 
On the rare occasion when I do respond, I gently inquire what it means for a country to implode. The sputtering answer I usually get is something about the country fracturing into warlord zones. This answer always makes me wonder if the person has been watching too many period piece kung fu movies. 
To be clear about the matter, there actually have been times in its long history when parts of China were ruled by warlords. But it’s almost insulting to suggest that modern China would fall to that again. Is it ever asked whether western civilization might devolve back into a society of knights, serfs and fiefdoms?
More in China USFocus.

Michael Justin Lee is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. Do you need him at your meeting or conference? Do get in touch or fill in our speakers' request form.

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