China: The Asian Civilization - The Wise World Traveler: Becoming a Part of All that You Meet - page 250

Deng twice survived being purged from Party leadership and had been tagged with the
ultimate insult, Capitalist Roader. Deng took power in 1978 and began what was truly a
great leap forward. Keeping Communist slogans, Deng introduced free enterprise to Ch-
ina's economy. As he famously said, “It doesn't matter if the cat is black or white, as long
as it catches mice.” [225] Heralding the change were the Four Modernizations: repairing the
country's infrastructure, advancing technology, agriculture, and national defense. In 1980,
to slow population growth, the government instituted a one-child policy. Husbands and
wives were punished for an unauthorized pregnancy, and forcible abortion could be the
consequence of a second pregnancy. Given the importance of male heirs, female infanti-
cide became commonplace, so that since 1949 today's generation of young men face the
prospect of never finding wives. One estimate projects that by the year 2020, the surplus of
Chinese males will be larger than the entire population of Taiwan. And children, no longer
plentiful, are much doted on and spoiled.
TIANANMEN SQUARE
Reform in a complex social system produces unintended consequences. As Deng's market
reforms took hold, students and intellectuals hoped that China would follow the Soviet
Union. There, glasnost (openness) was followed by greater political freedom that led, with
breathtaking speed, to the collapse of the Soviet dictatorship. The logic was there for all
to see: a free market involves more than buying and selling. It also brings the liberties of
everyday life: freedom of information and discussion, freedom to live where one chooses,
and freedom to choose one's education and vocation.
The upper ranks of China's Communist Party read history the same way but were re-
solved to prevent political change. Many still believed in a Communist future; most were
determined to keep the privileges of power. And as the pace of economic reforms grew,
other consequences followed: inflation, unemployment, the drift of rural Chinese to the cit-
ies in search of better jobs, the rise of a middle class, and the conspicuous display of Ch-
ina's new breed of millionaires. With little coordinated planning, students, workers, and
intellectuals began demanding greater participation in government decisions and an end to
government secrecy.