Democracy is important to us but I have a sneaking suspicion it is not all that important to the Chinese man-in-the-street. I suspect if you ask the man-in-the-street: "Do you want democracy?" His first answer might be: "How much will it cost me?" If you told him that he would have to go through a civil war to have democray then I suspect he would reply with a polite "No thanks". I suspect the Chinese man-in-the-street is quite happy to let the communists run China if they'll allow him to have a safe and comfortable life with a stable job. The notion of "Give me liberty or give me death" is very Anglo-Saxon.

Gary