2.14 - China (Commanding Heights Sample)

[eastern2western]

it shows that chinese is probably the most capitalist race in the world.

[TheWilliamcale]

i can distribute poverty

or i can distribute wealth

wow heavy

simple simple thing

[historyboy12]

The students and protestors largely didn't constitute a threat to the leadership, excluding some radical elements, and most of the deaths occured on the 4th when the CCP used shock tactics of mass repression upon protestors. The regime was right to stand its ground, but the mass killing and hitherto mass censorship is unecessary.

Lee Kuan Yew's Singapore shouldn't be the only option for China. Hong Kong rapidly developed with full social and partial political reforms.

[fee1776]

China had a US style republic in 1911. It failed because regional politicians and ruling rich families used the democratic opposition to stifle badly needed modernization and reforms.  China paid dearly as warlords took Bejing and lost opportunity to modernize to face Japan in 1937. Result China was backwards and lost millions at the hands of a modern Japananese military invasion and later Soviet meddling.

[historyboy12]

Well no, that's historically inaccurate because there was a restoration shortly after the 1911 revolution. Yuan Shikai ignored the constitution. The KMT later tried to pursue a democratic reformist agenda, but had to engage in authoritarian rule first and never really changed from this stance.

Secondly, no country really could have defeated Japan, the 'island nation' was far more advanced than China even had it modernized (which it partially did, however this was stalled by the communists)

[fee1776]

You just made my point. The KMT had to use authoritarian rule. China is too large and diverse and constantly under foreign threat and interferrence to start with democracy. With a largely poor and uneducated population in the 19th and early 20th Century democracy is nearly impossible. Today 10 percent of China is cosmopolitant, but 90 percent is still functionally literate. Limited democracy is possible at local level, full scale national level needs to wait until more middle class.

[historyboy12]

So what exactly is your line of argument?Your first post is incorrect: China was never a 'democracy' from the beginning. And you fail to mention the civil war from the 1920s which stalled socio-economic development. The KMT also still failed.

Secondly, yes it's true that the unification and colonisation (non Han regions) process required coercion. But my initial post is my criticism of the mass repression and general rule of the communists, not the immediate need for political reforms.

[lordawesome46]

Hong Kong developed under British rule as a colony where the people of Hong Kong had zero political rights -- zip, none, nada. They couldn't elect the governor; they didn't have a legilature body to make their own laws, and they had no right in participating in British politics either. That's the formula that made Hong Kong work -- focusing on eonomics and leaving the politics to the rulers.  Today Hong Kong'ers have some political rights and that have made the place chaotic in many ways.

[historyboy12]

Didn't read what I wrote? I said partial political reforms and was what happened in the 1980s and 1990s during late era of rapid growth. We had full social freedom since the beginning. The formula for HK was minimal govt intervention in all fields, though efficient, effective and transparent. Plus we had plenty of labour, capital and capitalists since 1949.

In fact Sir Young wanted to make HK a democracy immediately after ww2, but Grantham reversed course because of concern from Beijing.

[historyboy12]

As much as this video should be applauded for offering an alternative outlook upon 4/6/1989, after all this is the beauty of the west's media institutions, the CCP's actions shouldn't be justified at all.

[crossfirex3]

it was a shock!

[TijoKJose]

I love Commanding Heights. If I had not watched the video on pbs back in 7th grade I would have learn been interested in economics. Thank you Daniel Yergin and Joseph Stanislaw.

[TijoKJose]

I meant "I never would have become interested in economics without Commanding Heights."

[TijoKJose]

I meant "I never would have become interested in economics without Commanding Heights."

[jackson32]

Go to mises. org. That's real economics. This series pretends to be pro free market, but it's really just controlled opposition. Really economics is much richer, and in particular takes a strong and principled stand on property rights.

I will tell you something that you will not believe and that is that you are not seeing the real picture of what is going on, the powers that be control almost all of the mainstream media and education and have for centuries.

[billyysands]

what mainstream media? who watches the mainstream media anymore?

[billyysands]

i'm not a cnservative i used to be a socialist but its not reftable objectivelty that these policies invgorated stagnant econmies

[billyysands]

your nothng but a paranoid jew jhater arent you?

[billyysands]

it really disgusts me that yopube allows

such vicous lies and anti semitism to exist here, but i must say at least now

people can see you know you exist

its important to know where the threat is so somthing can be done about it.

i thought canada had hate speech laws

[gjuykhjgjhgdxghsfdx]

You should watch Free to Choose.

[shukefxy]

does anybody know where to look for the full version? many thanks!

[Seiku]

From the website written in the description.

[popoTb]

CHINA FOREVER!

long live DENG XIAO PING! HE is always alive in our hearts!

[EPsuperFan]

Deng would be so sad to see you shout this on internet. He spent his whole life in dedication to trash personal cult. He waited for Mao's death,he dumped Gang of 4,he routed Hua Guofeng,he banished the leader's chance of being "great" in China. And of course,he bulleted students,a person with less toughness won't be able to do that,amd China would be in a mess.

[popoTb]

i just admire him thats all! i think that there are so many things that I can learn from Deng!

[zloben9000]

china did best !

GO CHINA GOOOOOOOO :-) !!

[jackson32]

Tienanmen Square was not the brutal repression that everyone was told. In fact it was propaganda put out by the US to try to stop the liberalization and free market reforms that are now bearing fruit in China. The number of people killed was 300-400, but they were involved in skirmishes with the police on an entirely different issue and this happened a mile from Tienanmen Square.

lewrockwell. com /wanniski /wanniski70

lewrockwell. com /orig5 /wanniski2

[charlesdarwinxxx]

Three (3) Cancer on a Free China.

70% of people still live in country-side

with cows and chicken.

What has china added to the world in 500, 1000 years. Truth... nothing.

Nobel prizes. Truth.. None.

#1. Confucius. Blind, retarded obedience to authority. F#ck confucius.

#2 Hanzi (s**t-zi) Writing system invented by the Devil himself. 4000 characters

F#ck Hanzi.

#3. ccp-cancer. Ccp-cockroaches united Party, State & Army to create a military

dictatorship. Red cockroaches.

[nemasen]

actually that # is 50% now

[charlesdarwinxxx]

if the chinese are so smart, how come they only making 25 cents an hour.

how come they have never won a single Nobel Prize, ever.

what about Newton, Einstein, car, airplane, electricity, transistor, microchip, internet,

how the retard-chinese cannot get Taiwan, when the British claimed Australia and New Zealand..

Look the flag of Australia, how come the the UK is there.

China, backward primative, stone-age retards.

ccp-party of red cockroaches.

[Civsuccess]

watch?v=Zka1i46pZNU

See video showing China is not a market economy.

[lookathatrug]

Applause!!! By far the fairest judgement of the PRC government on youtube, and what tiananmen square incident was about.

[ilshyf]

Deng's choice for China was absolutely right. We have to choose sometimes one of the most brutal and the harshest ways to be reached in. Many people will criticize his choice, but I think they are confused what is the real deal of development. In Western Country, in the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, their ancestor did the same as Deng did in Tianmen square. To be free and rich, we have to sacrifice the certain things.

[Civsuccess]

This so called sacrifice is an excuse made up by people who benefit from staying in power.

Chinese will be 100 time more successful with democracy.

[nemasen]

I seriously doubt that. All of the asian tiger economies industrialized under dictatorship and converted to democracy later.

[jackson32]

@ nemasen

A big mistake for China would be to move move toward democracy. Democracy is just mob rule. As Winston Churchill once said, "The best argument against democracy is a five minute conversation with the average voter."

[Civsuccess]

Better have emperor again since men are created not equal. Mob and emperors are not created equal. The power to govern comes from heaven itself. Pp should be slave and not have right to choose.

[nemasen]

I meant localized democracy, they have village election now, one can imagine that moving up into townships and whatnot. I do think that central is fine as it is right now since there are still hard choices to be made during development.

[iamtheonly]

Applause!!! By far the fairest judgement of the PRC government on youtube, and what tiananmen square incident was about.

[eklektos7]

Applause!!! By far the fairest judgement of the PRC government on youtube, and what tiananmen square incident was about.

[warset]

Applause!!! By far the fairest judgement of the PRC government on youtube, and what tiananmen square incident was about.

[yamahaU3]

Applause!!! By far the fairest judgement of the PRC government on youtube, and what tiananmen square incident was about.