Which world leader can look back at his/her past decade in power and point to the achievements that president Hu can?
Extract from The Times, London, 9 November, 2012 – http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/world/asia/article3594528.ece
“China’s economy was the world’s sixth biggest when Hu Jintao took power. A decade later, it is second to the US and gaining.
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Most Chinese could only dream of owning a house or a car when Mr Hu took over. In 2002, just 3.2 million vehicles were sold; the number reached 18.5 million last year. Traffic jams seem endless and 65,000 miles of road have been laid — up from just 20,000. China overtook the US as the world’s biggest auto market in 2009. Only 16 people out 100 owned a mobile phone in 2002; today 74 in 100 have one.
About 59 million Chinese used the internet in 2002. Last year, nearly 520 million surfed cyberspace. The censors are meticulous in weeding out conversations deemed to be subversive. Perhaps more surprising is that such open discussion is allowed at all. Incomes have nearly tripled.
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He ensured his popularity among 800 million peasants — and possibly his place in history — by abolishing a 2,600-year-old agricultural tax levied by emperors on every farming family.He put a man in space, launched an aircraft carrier (Soviet-made, admittedly) and developed technology to shoot down a satellite.
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Some 200 protests erupt daily and the gap between rich and poor has widened to threaten Mr Hu’s cherished stability. In one of his jails Liu Xiaobo, the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize winner, serves 11 years. Mr Hu pledged to tackle corruption and arrested two Politburo members. An average of 94 officials are picked up every day for such offences. It’s a drop in the ocean of venality.
He once quipped: “A fall into the pit, a gain to your wit.” His rule was an odd mix of bold decisions and stasis.”
Related articles
- Checkered end-of-term report card for Hu Jintao (cnn.com)
- Hu Jintao’s Legacy: A Strong but Strained China (lookingbeyondborders.com)
CHINDIA ALERT: You'll be living in their world, very soon 
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