China Rising

Trade disputes with the United States notwithstanding, China is on course to become the world’s largest economy, a fact alone that has broad economic implications on a global scale. Its policies and programs have successfully lifted millions of its own people out of poverty. At 1.4 billion, China has more college-educated citizens than any country on the planet. Its advanced technology development is extraordinarily competitive. Against this seemingly rosy scenario, pro-democracy students in Hong Kong are protesting against intensifying Communist party control; the country’s air pollution annually spikes to life-threatening levels; and dissidents share stories of massive human rights violations. From global trade to online freedoms, technological leaps to rural hardship, remarkable culture to widespread censure, consider this a deep dive into one country — whose expanding posture abroad and tightening grip at home — is changing… everything.