25 years ago...

Not only that, they need leaders who can actually lead. Say what you want about Deng, he is one of the greatest Chinese leader ever, without him, you would not China of today. Can you imagine a Bush or a Obama leading China to today in 1979?

 

Deng is a great leader indeed. I kinda view him as a right wing figure desperately needed at the time. The stuff they said for they wanted to do (I mean the Deng brass) did not really make much sense. But they managed to steer the country into a different direction. However, my view of Deng in retrospect is mixed. I credit to him for the vast improvement of China, but, on the other hand, I wish he had a political vision that would charge China out of the backwards system as was (and still is). What you have today in China is, what I call - sort of speak, worst of two worlds, one being the capitalist and one being communist. His political vision did not make any sense in theory from either perspective. Hopefully, that will change.

 

BTW, Mao called Deng the biggest "rightist" (右派）, and he was right. Mao had a different vision.

 

To change the economic policies is one thing, asking the communist party to give up total control power is another, that will only come with time, more educated and affluent population. Look at the Mideast for how well quick changes work.

 

The disparity and imbalance is widening in this process. Deng has created this Monster. Would some sort of drastic changes be needed to end the Monster or the Monster will gradually change to the good? I am hoping for the later. It's probably no benefit to China to have a Arab spring fashion outburst of "hysteria", and that is also in the hands of CCP. So far, politically, very little has been done. The same old Lenin, Stalin, Mao backward craps are replicated, and being dubbed as "Chinese Characteristic".