Democracy came to China last week, as millions of voters lifted Li Yuchun to an unprecedented election victory. With 3.5 million votes, Li triumphed over rivals Zhou Bichang and Zhang Liangying to claim the title of Super Girl, the Chinese equivalent of American Idol. 400 million viewers watched Friday's finale, and eight million of them cast ballots. Of course, technically they did not really vote; rather, they sent "text messages of support" to their chosen candidate via cell phone. However, this semantic distinction failed to appease a regime concerned that the outburst of enthusiasm generated by the show might lead to demands for greater public involvement in more profound arenas of life. State-run China Central TV (CCTV) has threatened to shut down the unofficial program, labeling it vulgar, manipulative, lowbrow, and worldly. Not only that, but the advertising revenues generated by Super Girl surpassed those of its official CCTV competition.
So, the communist Chinese government has made grudging allowances for both free markets and popular elections. Unfortunately, private firms may only profit to the extent that their profits do not exceed those of the government, and public citizens may only vote concerning matters which do not actually affect their lives. Paternalism runs amok and unabated behind the bamboo curtain. As I argued in Caveat Emptor, the government of the "People's Republic of China" stands "for the people" only in the sense that it believes it knows what best serves them, and gives it to them whether they want it or not. Apparently the over one billion Chinese people can handle bread and circuses, but can never rival the wisdom of the benevolent despots who maintain their yoke. Who says America is the new Rome?
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