I propose the implementation of social reforms to bridge the gulf between the richest and the poorest in our society. There are two reasons for this. The first is that this gulf wasn't created during the [pre-1949] old regime, nor by hostile foreign forces. It is the product of our current sick society. The second is that I don't buy Mao Zedong's belief that revolution can level it. Some people have great confidence in our current social system, and sing its praises time and again. But anyone who is stuck in poverty will say it stinks. Twenty-five percent of families in our country hold just one percent of its wealth. The facts speak for themselves, and the root of the problem lies in our current, flawed social system, which some regard as sacrosanct, writes Bao Tong, former advisor to Party Leader Zhao Ziyang. Read more
