Source:
https://scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3030729/how-china-chose-communist-revolution-over-capitalism-and
This Week in Asia/ Opinion

How China chose a communist revolution over capitalism and rehabilitated the idea of reform

  • The country’s youth had a choice in the early 20th century between two types of Western revolution, and eventually discovered a definition of their own
  • As the People’s Republic turns 70, the idea of reform is favoured, but for centuries it was regarded as doomed to fail, says sinologist Wang Gungwu at the launch of ThinkChina magazine
Ge Xiaoguang, a reclusive artist who painted the portrait of Mao Zedong that hangs over Tiananmen Square, works on a giant depiction of Sun Yat-sen, the father of modern China, at a studio in Beijing. Photo: Reuters

On the eve of the 70th anniversary of the People’s Republic of China, two words probably stand out. First, the “revolution” that succeeded in 1949. And then, the “reforms” that started about 40 years ago.

These two words are often put together, sometimes in opposition, suggesting that reforms are better than revolution; at other times, that a revolution is necessary, reforms are a waste of time and unable to achieve what people want. So these two words have a very interesting and intimate relationship.