Very interesting and informative article. It does look like China has undergone critical changes and is continuing to grow toward a more "capitalistic" communist country. I think it is amazing that we were able to visit China during this time of growth...after seeing the changes firsthand, I will definitely pay more attention to articles like this.

It's not really fair to compare our history of suffrage to today's China. Although in 1787 only white males that owned property could vote, the US government has always been under control of the people. It's true that not every US citizen could vote for many years, but I don't think it's true that the US government has been able to ignore the will of the people like China's communist party does today.

To be honest, I was angered by China's government on our trip. How can a government that calls itself "The People's Republic of China", allow for such incredible suffering by so many of it's citizens. I was shocked by the level and the grand scale of China's poverty. Look at the number of beggars and "salespeople" that we saw. Three-year olds begging at night. People desperate to make a few yuan. Obviously, China's government is not concerned with the millions of poor Chinese people. At some point, the poor will strike back. It's happened in every area of the world throughout history and it's happened many times in China.