China: August 28, 1999

Archives

An independent poll of a cross section of the Chinese urban population revealed some disturbing news for the ruling communist party. The number one complaint among Chinese was government corruption. In the past, unemployment and "social order" had been the number one issues. Some 70 percent of the sample were satisfied with their quality of life. The rural population is even more incensed over corrupt bureaucrats. With the better educated urban population also upset over this problem, the government either has to clean things up or face another revolution. Throughout history, and particularly in the 20th century, the Chinese have been most likely to rebel because of official corruption.