Self Defeating Chinese Ways 2

See Part 1 first.

Ho Ai Li rounded up her article on a note of pessimism. I am sure she didn't need to look very hard for such opinions. The Chinese are trapped. They will become rich and powerful until such a time when their ancient self defeating ways appear as a barrier which throughout history they could not overcome.

Trust at the society level in China is low. Therefore it is only a matter of time charities are wrecked by scandals. Corruption is rampant, and the rule of law is impossible for a people that is so clever at working around it, tire of it and blatantly flout it. When you are powerful enough you no longer need to offer pretense of the law, you the powerful one becomes the law. That's how the story of Bo XiLai will be written.

All the trust capital in China is invested in the family and clan. Yet the Chinese desire to be one powerful nation and take the greatest pride in that. These two contradictory forces threaten to pull them apart. The integrity of organizations beyond the family and clan are eventually compromised.

An effective China Red Cross run as a civic organization cannot be a national one. Any grassroots effort must be built only up to the provincial level at most and I don't mean the modern province but the historical one.

To break this vicious bind the Chinese must look to the future and let the young take precedence over the old. Allow them to seize the opportunities beyond the nation's borders and assimilate foreign influence. I am saying nothing new here. At the twilight of the Ching Dynasty many had felt this way too. So embracing Marxism is only a half way point, they need to go much farther. Confucius is much stronger than Marx.