There is a part of me that does not understand the priorities that the Chinese government puts on the Chinese people. Instead of saving a starving, dying country the Chinese government has decided that it is more important to send a man into space. Politically speaking, the nationalistic value of a manned space flight is important to a nation’s morale, especially in a nation where the trust of the people is no longer placed in the hands of those in charge. With the recent changes in Chinese politics, the economy is expanding, which has only caused the people to re-think the legitimacy of the leadership. Space flight will be a breath of fresh air to the old communist regime. There is no better example of a nation’s success and the great of the leadership than to place a man in space. The old dying communist regime needs a manned space flight in order to reassert themselves into the minds of the citizens of China. Such an act on the part of the Chinese government will place China in the world’s elite, into a club that few have joined since Sputnik. However, can on morally say that with millions of people dying of starvation and even more people living in complete poverty that manned space flight has priority over economic relief and socialized medicine? Is this just another propagandistic move like he ones before that led China into their near complete poverty? I believe that the goals set out by the Chinese government should be condemned internationally. In a world where everything that a government does is placed under a microscope, why are the critics of the war in Iraq turning a blind eye at China and her billions?
[posted for Jon by CH]
