China Syndrome

And no, I am not talking about a movie. Publius Pundit, aka Robert Mayer, examines in depth some of the problems facing China at the moment. Its definitely worth reading, especially if you think, as I do, that things in Asia may heat up in the future. A short excerpt:

Something whispers in my ear, however, that when the Chinese gets put up on its last legs, it won’t care about the ramifications of any drastic actions. Perhaps I’m one of the few, but I actually think that China’s democratization is an inevitability coinciding with its economic liberalization. With this kind of collapse around the corner, Taiwan could be a futile last grasp at maintaining authority.

It begs the question to be asked, Is China’s regime on its last legs? It wouldn’t appear so, given the economic boom. With the investors, however, comes western thought, and the influence of this thought has a way of piercing in and shining light on the dark corners of communism. They will either have to eventually reform, or go against the inevitable change of the tide and crumble. Along the lines of Wretchard’s ironic findings, it is also ironic to note that the economic growth that lends China’s rulers its ability to militarize is the same growth that causes the regime to rot from the inside with corruption.

As they say, RTWT.