Keep Thou My Feet

China Road: A Journey into the Future of a Rising Power by Rob Gifford

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This was a really interesting and enjoyable read. Gifford traveled all the way along China's Route 312 and tells about the people he meets all along the way, from Shanghai in the east to the border of Kazakhstan in the west. I enjoyed his style, and I think Gifford was overall pretty complimentary of China while still explaining the problems it faces.

One of the things I realized was that the authoritarian approach in China is pretty effective. I tend to think that authoritarian equals bad and democracy equals good, but while I don't necessarily think it's fair to the people that the government still has so much control over the people's lives, I can acknowledge that the government seems to know what they're doing and is effective at facilitating high economic growth and keeping the country together. It's investing everywhere in buildings and roads so that people can start up businesses and transport goods effectively, and that's important. In India the economy's growth is really limited by the bad roads. In India Express I read that 40% of produce spoils before it gets to market because the roads are bumpy and trucks are frequently stalled for days. China recognizes that a lot of people are not content with the government, especially the people in the west, like in Tibet, who feel that they should be independent from China, and so the government is doing things like putting money into the economies in those areas, and also indoctrinating children in the schools, in order to make China more unified. I wouldn't say I like that, but I'm impressed that the government can be organized and plan ahead enough to carry it out. I do think that at some point China will have to become more democratic, though--more and more Chinese people want democracy, and if it becomes a big enough movement it could lead to a revolution. Last time that happened, Mao Zedong came into power and the next several decades were insane. It would be nice if somehow Chinese people could get their voice without chaos ensuing. At this point, most aspects of people's lives are not controlled by the government, but political dissent is still not tolerated.



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