Mei Fong channels Princess Leia to criticise curbs in China

Once poised to become a dominant hegemon, China's apple cart has been upset by myriad internal geopolitical factors, which will leave it unable to truly stamp its influence on the 21st century, a group of experts said at the JLF here today.
The session entitled "Does the 21st century truly belong to China?" saw Pulitzer prize winning journalist Mei Fon, Rob Schimdt, and Madeline o'Dea discussing factors like public debt, repression, unemployment, and corruption that had stopped China from truly "owning" the 21st century.
Fong channeled the iconic Star Wars protagonist Princess Leia to criticise China's policies of domestic repressions.

"The more you tighten your grip, the more star systems will slip through your fingers," she said, referring to a statement made by the character to the series' arch villain Darth Vader.
"What I am trying to say is, with tighter repression and less openness of economy, much needed reforms are not going to be done. Money is what has kept the Chinese growth engine running in double digit growth. What happens when it is not in double digit growth?" she said.
Fong, who has authored "One Child: The Story of China's Most Radical Experiment", said that the eponymous policy imposed by the country had created a gender imbalance and reduced the work force, with a large percentage of the population ageing.

Schimdt highlighted the enormous amount of public and local government debt, that along with systemic lower level corruption, has dealt a blow to China.

"China had built its way out of the financial crisis by commissioning more and more infrastructure like highways, rails and even cities. But now, because of enormous public debt that has been piling up, transforming the country from a building to a consumption based one."
This, he warned, would be painful in the short term. This unmitigated construction has also taken a toll on the environment, he said.
"Public debt is at extremely dangerous levels. Local government debt in China is equal to 40 per cent of its GDP."

He also talked about rural areas in China that have not been lifted out of poverty.
"650 million people, mostly in urban areas, have risen out of poverty. But as many in rural areas have not risen," he said.
Madeline o'Dea, meanwhile, talked of internal repressions in China, where several human rights lawyers have been put behind bars.
Schmidt said the South China Sea problem was the only issue that could cause open conflict between the US and China.
"China feels trapped and needs a way out into the Pacific," he said, trying to explain the country's reasoning behind the occupation of small islands and creation of artificial ones in the sea.