China: The Asian Civilization - The Wise World Traveler: Becoming a Part of All that You Meet - page 252

THE DRAGON AWAKES
By the standards of previous generations, China today is prosperous and prospering. Its
economy is now the second largest in the world, second only to the United States. China's
economy has been growing by almost 10 percent a year. And its per capita income has
been growing by about 8 percent over the last three decades. Hundreds of millions have
risen out of poverty, and infant mortality has plummeted. China is a country of million-
aires, and where roads in cities used to pulsate with waves of bicycles, automobiles now
choke the streets. Young people have thrown away the once-mandatory Mao denim tunic
and trousers; they now dress in the latest western fashions, with cell phones as accessories.
China's consumption of oil grows to rival that of the United States. Its industries now pro-
duce planes and missiles. China is a power to be reckoned with in international affairs. And
to the detriment of the environment, China's manufactures flood the world. Wal-Mart, the
world's largest retailer, is China's biggest customer. (Go into any Wal-Mart, K Mart, Toys
R Us, or Target store; challenge yourself to find a product that is not made in China.)
Dissent remains a major concern for China's leaders. Journalists are monitored, and
to keep them within approved boundaries, they are occasionally jailed for revealing “state
secrets” (a catch-all category). Even so, as prosperity grows it tends to dampen dissent.
Perhaps the most striking portent of what lies ahead is revision of school textbooks.
Communist ideology and recounting the heroic role of the People's Liberation Army have
been all but eliminated. Mao is hardly mentioned. What are now stressed in schoolbooks
are technology, globalization, and adapting to new ways. [227]