Review of "Post-Deng China: Some Encouraging and Not So Encouraging Signs," by Winberg Chai

Review of

Post-Deng China: Some Encouraging and Not So Encouraging Signs, by Winberg Chai


Five out of five stars

 This short position paper was written and presented on March 18, 1997, approximately one month after the death of Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping. There is no question that Deng was the architect of the incredible transformation of China from an economically weak country into arguably the highest performing economy in the world. In this paper, the author briefly discusses the recent history of China, the position of Taiwan relative to China and the world and what the predictions are for the immediate future.

 The positions put forward are in essence accurate, yet significantly understated regarding the results. At the time of Deng’s death, no one could have predicted the meteoric rise of China to economic pre-eminence. Yet, one can see within the prose predictions of such an event. The author is correct about the results, just a bit short on the magnitude. The paper closes with the memorial speech made by Jiang Zemin for Deng Xiaoping. Deng’s policies have been adapted to conform to modern technologies, but not fundamentally altered.