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As I have been reading the daily news around the world, I have been developing the progressive feeling that the People's Republic of China could be the world leader for sustaining an economic and social growth unparalleled by any other country in the world. For a long time I have been thinking that life is more important than money and now that I realise the tangible economic growth of China and of the related social advancement for its 1.3 billion people, I have become disillusioned with the economic leadership of the United States and of its dollarized foreign policies.

The conventional media has portrayed China as a backward militaristic country with a score of chronic violations of human rights. In this respect, we have heard a lot about the repressive brutalities against demonstrating students in Tiananmen Square in Beijing, a lot about the lack of religious freedom affecting the Falun Gong, a lot about firing squads executing criminals, a lot about China's takeover of Tibet, and a lot about China's aggressive posture against Taiwan.

We must understand that democracy is not a state of hegemonic permanent freedom to be defended by waging discretional wars against a customized manufactured enemy, yesterday's communism and today's terrorism. Therefore, we must all realise that China has become part of the international community and not only it has it enjoyed the most successful transition to a market economy, but it has enjoyed the highest socio-economic growth of any other country in the world. In the last 25 years China's real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has increased at an incredible average rate in excess of 9% per year. No matter what any pundit, academician or politician would say, the truth is that China couldn't have economically grown at this exceptional rate, without the support of its people and along a parallel growth in its democratic pursuit of peace, at home and abroad.

Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz writes to day in the Guardian:

"after handing billions to rich Americans through tax cuts, the Bush administration is passing the hat around, asking for contributions from other countries to help to pay for the Iraq war... Meanwhile, the US trade deficit is mounting. America, the world's richest country, evidently can't live within its means, borrowing more than a billion dollars a day. As the US thrashes around for someone to blame, it is inevitable that it will focus on China... But this is blame shifting, nothing more."

China is showing the world that we can economically grow by pursuing democratic policies of peace and trade. Therefore, we must stop the Bush administration's hegemonic policies of wars and free trade.

References

Information Office of the State Council of the People's Republic of China China's Population and Development in the 21st Century December 2000, Beijing, http://news.xinhuanet.com/employment/2002-11/18/content_633168.htm

Yeung, Ryan Laureate speaks on global development October 24, 2001 The Amherst Student, http://halogen.note.amherst.edu/~astudent/2001-2002/issue08/news/04.html

CITIBANK, N. A. CHINA MAJOR ECONOMIC FORECASTS September 7, 2001 http://www.tdctrade.com/econforum/citi/citi010902.htm

Stiglitz, Joseph US economic folly should worry us all . Think before gloating over Bush's spectacular fiscal incompetence September 17, 2003 The Guardian, http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,3604,1043494,00.html