The Chinese character for rice ('fan') consists of two radicals: one is for food, the other for revolt. Without the radical of food, there will be revolt. Only when everybody has basic necessities can a country start developing luxuries. This includes democracy. What good is democracy when the result is everybody has a say, but is poor? That is why all countries, like China, should focus on economic growth before they focus on democracy. In fact, economic growth will eventually benefit the whole society, including the poor. Only then can democracy function effectively. Democracy is based on the ideal of 'majority rules' or that everybody can have a say. However, it would be impossible for China, for example, to become a developed nation if it focuses first on democracy. Take the right to vote. Not everybody in China has sufficient education to choose and vote for what is right for the nation. In fact, China's literacy rate is 85.2 per cent (as of 2000), which means 142 million people cannot read or write. Many other developing nations have a greater percentage of illiterate people. Does this population have the ability to vote for what is right for a country? It is fair to say that those who are not educated are more likely to believe a persuasive candidate. This is especially so when the country is suffering from economic difficulties. That is how Hitler came to power. Of course, countries should not focus on any one extreme. They should try to set economic growth as the first priority, and democracy as number two. There is no harm in focusing on both goals at the same time. During the 16th party congress, then president Jiang Zemin said China will focus on economic growth but reduce economic disparity at the same time. This included the improvement of distributing wealth and welfare and easier transfer of land to alleviate the income gap between urban and rural areas. By trying to incorporate the two important ingredients of a developed country into a developing country, one can get the best out of both worlds. EVA YAN YING LEUNG, Mid-Levels
