So China's always under fire for corrupt politicians and shady business deals, but really, can it be any worse than what's going on in Russia? Putin stepped down last week as President, handing over the reigns to the guy he backed in the election, Dmitri Medvedev. Medvedev moves up from First Deputy Prime Minister, Putin moves down to Prime Minister, and the outgoing Prime Minister moves into Medvedev's old spot as chairman of Gazprom, Russia's largest oil company. It's as incestuous as it gets. And yet there's been barely any outcry in the Western media about it.
I can only imagine how China would be ripped for doing anything remotely similar. The government would be called much worse than "goons and thugs". The only thing I'll say is that culturally, it's easier said than done to move from a communist command economy to an American-style capitalist one. When money had no value, relationships were tantamount, and now that the elite in Russia and China have both, it's going to be hard to convince them that their old way of doing business isn't going to fly anymore.
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