..12.. mao tse-tung

many chinese people seem to have great respect for this communist leader whose regime scared its people into submission and outward support.

a frank tour guide said the government makes empty promises and effectively supresses any dissent using fear. in 1989 a group of pro-democratic student protesters in tian'anman square were mowed down with military vehicles and firearms - thousands were killed, but the news didn't make it to china. while the rest of the world knows about this tragedy, the communist government (which controls the media) prevented its own country from hearing about it.

markets sell anything you can imagine - bags, statues, alarm clocks - with Mao insignia - ironic that the antithesis of capitalism seems to be a successful product!