h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Two press releases which just came through the Tibet Support Network, One from Global Resources, the other from the China Support Movement.

Gross National Happiness: The True Measure Of Success?
Bhutan - His Holiness, The Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, recently received an Honorary Fellowship from Liverpool John Moores University during his official visit to Britain. His Holiness is supporting the movement for happiness to be adopted as an economic indicator. In a letter of support to an international conference in Bhutan on Gross National Happiness, he writes: “As a Buddhist, I believe the purpose of our lives is to overcome suffering and cultivate happiness. But by happiness, I do not only mean the temporary pleasure that is derived from material comfort alone. I am thinking more of the enduring happiness that results from the thorough transformation and development of the mind that can be achieved though the cultivation of such qualities as compassion, patience and wisdom. At the same time, on national and global levels we need an economic system that enables such a pursuit of true happiness. The purpose of economic development should be to contribute to rather than obstruct this goal.”
[Ends]

PRESS RELEASE FROM CHINA SUPPORT MOVEMENT

"Bloody Crack Down on Peasants Protesting Against the Illegal Sale of Collective Land Property by the CCP Officials: Thirty People Shot and Four Leaders Arrested."
At 2:30 AM on August 2, 2004 600 Armed Police surrounded and attacked the Shi-Jia-He Village in the northern Suburb of Zhengzhou city in Henan Province. The cause of this armed attack was due to the fact the villagers have appealed to the higher government organs many times against the illegal sale of the village land, a sale which makes the villagers have less land to produce food and also the fact that the proceeds of about 40 million RMB Yuan were stolen by the village party officials.
The government mobilized 600 armed police and tried to kidnap away the leaders of the villagers who have protested against the party officials and wrongdoings. People went out of their homes to resist the effort to arrest their leaders and the armed police started to shoot toward the crowd. More than 30 villagers have been shot and six of them have been wounded seriously. They have been sent to the Zhengzhou Central Hospital and are under emergency operation as of now.
Four people were arrested and only two have just been released to their homes. The village is still being surrounded by the armed police and more than 300 government officials are still mingled with the villagers and request them not to continue their appeal.
[Ends]

Just the incident to spark a revolution, by all appearances. But China is different ... yes, no?

Interestingly, John Kusumi, the head honcho of the China Support Movement in the USA, from whom I got the Press Release, reckons that this is yet another sign of the desperation underlying the defunct CCP. His view is that the CCP party officials are all taking whatever they can take out of the government's finances while the grabbing is good, before the whole thing goes belly-up.

China's miracle economy in many ways hangs by a thread, depending for its viability on the very high percentage of personal savings, and massive direct foreign investment. But the banks ( state-owned ) themselves are still not properly regulated ( by western standards ) and dish out loans to bankrupt government agencies, state-owned enterprises etc., whenever the government tells them to. As some commentator said, in the Economist, I think ( or was it Joe Studwell in "The China Dream"?), the Chinese government steals from itself to lend to itself with the Chinese people and foreign investors paying the bill.

Financial smoke and mirrors. Which can't go on for ever, presumably. But the West wants to believe it can and will. So Mary Harney headed Ireland's largest trade mission to any country ever in China last month.

Quote from G B Shaw: A government which robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul.