Chinese political model has been regularly raised by the media this summer in the context of the Iranian elections, both as an authoritarian regime ready to intervene to stifle the democratic demands of a part of its population, but also as a positive example of mature and stable system if still-authoritarian. Surprising then that the media highlight the existence of possible parallels between the elections in Iran and Tiananmen incident which was the twentieth anniversary this summer. For cons, the idea that China would present a model that Iranian authorities should follow a food for thought.
And this morning I came across two clues that indicate that the "Chinese model" now takes its place in the American debate on reforming the health system and governance in general. In an editorial published September 9 in the New York Times , the famous American journalist Thomas Friedman frustrated with the resistance encountered by President Obama within his own party, indulges think of a better political system ... that of China: A
autocratic one-party state is not without disadvantages, certainly, but under enlightened leadership, as is the case of the current Chinese leadership, the benefits are numerous. This party has the power to impose major decisions, even if politically difficult, so that society can move forward.
ironic that Friedman assumed by comparing the Chinese Communist Party in the U.S. Democratic Party-who is "only" if not unique because the Republicans refuse to play the game, but the legislative respect he shows towards the Chinese-effectiveness result of an autocratic regime, is nevertheless real.
second example of the changing image of China: Harper's Index from October 2009. Harper's Index, published monthly in the American magazine Harper's , paints a portrait of the United States from "miscellaneous" statistics uncovered by researchers in the journal. The Index is intended to be both incisive ("Change in terms of percentage of the profits of the 10 U.S. companies insurance the largest since 2002: 428) and funny ("Percentage of unemployed Americans who nap every day: 39 Percentage of Americans who are employed a nap every day: 31). The first six
facts statistics index which has just come out make comparisons between China and the United States, again in the context of the management challenges faced by the two powers: Percentage
in terms GDP, which represent the stimulus money for U.S. and China, respectively, invested in the economy since the beginning of the recession
6, 13.
Percentage of stimulus money will go to Chinese infrastructure projects: 40
percentage of U.S. stimulus funds that will go to infrastructure projects: 17
Percentage of Americans who could do their studies in medicine China this year, medical expenses paid by the U.S. this year: 100
Minimum number of "barefoot doctors" trained in China between 1965 and 1985: 1,500,000
Number of years that the present Minister of Health China has worked well: As a
Friedman, Harper's seems to appreciate the intelligence and know-how in China.
Under the Bush-Cheney, Americans desperate by the direction taken by their countries threatened to vote with their feet and immigrating to Canada (click here and here for comments deadpan laugh about this). Who would have thought that under the Obama administration, the destination of choice for the American left would be ... China?
David Ownby, Montreal
0 comments:
Post a Comment