Secret Chinese Insecurities

Less-visible insecurities linger from its recent chaotic past and drive this country’s politics. China’s strengths, and its weaknesses, should be measured with care. …The might and wealth of the new China are projected outward by its increasingly savvy media and diplomats and amplified by impressionable foreign scribes. But that one-dimensional image obscures the age-old grace and gentleness of many of China’s people, as well as the positive energy and optimism among university students. It also ignores the sharp vulnerabilities their leaders still feel and address through their periodic outbursts.