China

A while back we got into some discussion about China and its space
program and then digressed into discussing other issues surrounding
China.

For those who are still interested here is a source, and from my
travels I happen to agree pretty much with much of what he says,
that nicely summarizes a lot of background in a slick a-v
presentation.

http://nytimes.com/packages/html/opinion/20031224_CHINA/

Just to throw my 2 cents into the mix, I think we should be prepared
for Taiwan to make a substantive move towards independence as 2008
rolls closer.

http://en.beijing-2008.org/

The pressure of China to present itself well to the world by hosting
the Olympics will act to constrain tendencies to retaliate against
Taiwan. The prospect of a Moscow Olympics will loom clearly before
them.

Here's a story on growing class disparities within China.
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/01/16/international/asia/16CHIN.html

For those of you with boradband and 112 minutes on your hands, you
can watch this PBS Frontline documentary.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/red/view/

Look here for background on the disproportionate incidence of male
birth and what effect 30 million unmarriageable men may have on
domestic and foreign policy.

http://www.byu.edu/news/releases/archive02/May/China.htm

I wouldn't count on a vigorous space agenda from China. Yes, it will
undertake missions that put it in league with the US and Russia, but
I don't foresee them overtaking our capabilities and capacities any
time soon.

TangoMan