December 12, 2009--(Strategy Page): Three decades of energetic economic growth have made China mighty. But the changes have made the country more difficult to govern, at least as a communist police state (which is what China actually is, despite a huge PR campaign trying to conceal the rough side of this). For example, the more affluent, better educated segment of the population, that goes along with the larger, more dynamic economy, are harder to intimidate into blind obedience. Alarmed at corruption, pollution and inept civil servants, these new middle class Chinese are smart enough to protest without ending up in a prison camp. These citizens know how to use lawyers (even though the legal system is dominated by Communist Party officials), the Internet and the mass media (even though most of it is, in theory, controlled by the government) to pressure the government. The way the younger generation (those who began using the Internet in the last decade) has adopted an independent attitude is very worrisome. These young people are very smart, ambitious and resourceful. The government fears this, and is really uncertain how to deal with them. Putting lots of them in prison could cripple, or hobble, the economy. But letting these kids run free, could smash the police state that has ruled China for over 60 years. This is doubly scary, as this generation will come of age (to take more senior government and business jobs) at the same time, in 20-30 years, that China's population control efforts of the last three decades, will begin to reach a crises (too many retirees and too few workers).
Relations between China and Cambodia are continuing to go downhill. Cambodia has been more aggressive against ethnic Chinese groups (and their armed militias) who have long lived on the Cambodian side of the border. This is the Wild West for both nations, long a generally lawless (or just poorly policed) area. For several decades after World War II, this region was the source of most of the world's heroin supply (that business has relocated, because of military pressure, to Afghanistan). Now, the border area is being used by Uighurs trying to escape the Chinese police (and prison, or worse, because the cops are looking for real, or potential, enemies-of-the-state among Uighurs.) Burma is willing to tighten border security, and send back Chinese exiles. But the Burmese generals want more Chinese economic and military support. Burma is also a police state (but not a communist one) that has ruined its economy. So economic help is important. China is interested in making deals.
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