So if things are going so well in China right now…

10 Sep, 2011 by TrogloPundit

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…why are wealthy Chinese looking to leave?

China’s richest are increasingly investing abroad to get a foreign passport, to make international business and travel easier but also to give them a way out of China.

Seems like I’ve literally heard a crapload of stories lately about how China’s economy is going to surpass ours…China will be the world’s next hegemon…it’s a demographic and economic certainty…the American Century has ended…

And yet:

The United States is the most popular destination for Chinese emigrants…

If America’s demise and China’s ascension is such a done deal, why does the phrase “well, duh” spring so quickly to mind?

…with rich Chinese praising its education and healthcare systems. Last year, nearly 68,000 Chinese-born people became legal permanent residents of the U.S., seven percent of the total and second only to those born in Mexico. Canada and Australia are also popular.

“Education and healthcare?” That seems odd. Why wouldn’t they go to Canada, or Britain, with their universal health care systems?

Oh, wait, China’s a Communist country. They already have universal health care.

Other reasons for emigration include:

Despite more economic freedom, the communist government has kept its tight grip on many other aspects of daily life. China’s leaders punish, sometimes harshly, public dissent and any perceived challenges to their power, and censor what can be read online and in print. Authoritarian rule, meanwhile, has proved ineffective in addressing long standing problems of pollution, contaminated food and a creaking health care system.

“In China, nothing belongs to you. Like buying a house. You buy it but it will belong to the country 70 years later,” said Su, lamenting the government’s land leasing system.

Less “authoritarian rule,” more private property rights. Sounds like we’ve got more Tea Partiers moving in! And rich ones, at that!

Move over, Koch brothers!

(Posted by The TrogloPundit.)