Scandal shows that communist China is becoming more open
A REMARKABLE aspect of the Bo Xilai affair is the detailed information provided by the official Chinese media about his downfall and the alleged involvement of his wife in murder ("Disgrace of the next Mao", 13/4).
The Communist Party Central Committee announced it had "resolutely moved" to investigate the events and "inform the public promptly".
This is a departure from past practice, although there has been some recent movement in this direction. Reporting on China from Hong Kong for The New York Times in 1971, I pieced together a story on a comparably significant event that was ignored by the Chinese media. This was the death of Lin Biao, Mao's chosen successor, in a plane crash in Mongolia while fleeing to the Soviet Union after a failed coup attempt.
Today, the spread of social media is forcing the Chinese government to be more open and more responsive. That is why it is informing the public promptly. By doing so it is better placed to counter rumours that could be more harmful to its attempts to promote stability and harmony than the bare facts. This is a welcome trend that is bound to continue, bringing further beneficial change to China.
Ian Stewart, Davidson, NSW
I HOPE business people read Greg Rudd's article ("Economy killed by kindness", 13/4). It is the most trenchant comment on doing business in China that I have read.
The cultural differences between Western and Chinese business mindsets and practices are a chasm that most Australian businesses do not understand. We want legally enforceable contracts and they want to get away with whatever they can.
Bo Xilai and his wife, and the death of British businessman Neil Heywood, are the tip of the iceberg of the corruption that drives most of China's business.The Chinese say the marketplace is like a battlefield and that's the way they do business.
The Chinese will suck the last drop of intellectual property and wealth out of the West until all we have left is the moral high ground. China will then be restored to its rightful position as the Middle Kingdom and we will be invited to send delegations asking for favours. It's a 100-year strategy.
Jim Wilson, Beaumont, SA
The Communist Party Central Committee announced it had "resolutely moved" to investigate the events and "inform the public promptly".
This is a departure from past practice, although there has been some recent movement in this direction. Reporting on China from Hong Kong for The New York Times in 1971, I pieced together a story on a comparably significant event that was ignored by the Chinese media. This was the death of Lin Biao, Mao's chosen successor, in a plane crash in Mongolia while fleeing to the Soviet Union after a failed coup attempt.
Today, the spread of social media is forcing the Chinese government to be more open and more responsive. That is why it is informing the public promptly. By doing so it is better placed to counter rumours that could be more harmful to its attempts to promote stability and harmony than the bare facts. This is a welcome trend that is bound to continue, bringing further beneficial change to China.
Ian Stewart, Davidson, NSW
I HOPE business people read Greg Rudd's article ("Economy killed by kindness", 13/4). It is the most trenchant comment on doing business in China that I have read.
The cultural differences between Western and Chinese business mindsets and practices are a chasm that most Australian businesses do not understand. We want legally enforceable contracts and they want to get away with whatever they can.
Bo Xilai and his wife, and the death of British businessman Neil Heywood, are the tip of the iceberg of the corruption that drives most of China's business.The Chinese say the marketplace is like a battlefield and that's the way they do business.
The Chinese will suck the last drop of intellectual property and wealth out of the West until all we have left is the moral high ground. China will then be restored to its rightful position as the Middle Kingdom and we will be invited to send delegations asking for favours. It's a 100-year strategy.
Jim Wilson, Beaumont, SA
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