Chinese provincial governor likens the ruling party to a frog in a pot of slow-boiling water.

[pampango]

Cue last week’s blaring message for reform from Wang Yang, the party secretary of the southern province of Guangdong, a contender for a seat on the Standing Committee.

Mr. Wang likened the CPC to the frog in a pot of slow-boiling water. While the temperature is still comfortable, no one is willing to make changes, he said in a speech in Foshan that was widely disseminated online and in newspapers. By the time the water is too hot, it’s too late, he said. The system is riddled with economic and political inefficiencies, and discontent is rising, Mr. Wang warned.

“The contradictions are growing, and if they are not resolved, they may affect social stability, even evolving into mass incidents,” said Mr. Wang, employing party-speak for demonstrations, riots and uprisings.

In other words, Chinese politics is full of pragmatists, like anywhere else, and the next decade will show if the frog gets boiled alive or if it hops out of the pot.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/20/world/asia/20iht-letter20.html

[WCGreen]

1. If Chinese start to look around and say, hey what the fuck....

Then everything could go crazy.

Financial stuff here, spill over unrest in Russia and South East Asia, perhaps military confrontations with Japan, India chomping at the bit...

That would cause a lot of unrest all across the world.

[xchrom]

2. The leadership in china is wealthy.

That wealth - just like in the west - isolates them from the realities of the rest.

Pragmatists are killing all of us.

[Ikonoklast]

3. Those that have accumulated wealth and power under the current system will not relinquish it easily.

People all over the world are the same, Oligarchs act like Oligarchs the world over.

The coming Chinese upheaval will be stupendous.