China's Cultural Revolution 40 years on

Listening the the BBC World service this morning I heard a classic quote. It was said as if it was a matter of fact.. "China suffered irreparable damage because of the cultural revolution". And I thought, 'what planet do BBC reporters exist in'. Look at the China before the cultural revolution, and look at China now. I can't for the life of me imagine what kind of damage the reporter was talking about.

I admit the cultural revolution was really bad for a very large number of people and it is not something China should boast about. But, frankly, it was a success and this should be recognised. Without it China would have remained in absolute poverty, and quite possibly ten times as many people would have died of starvation than died in during the cultural revolution.

Now China has established its independence and economy its real challenge is to translate this into a sustainable system that will last. And this can only be done by stopping censorship, allowing open debate and an independent Judiciary. Without this how is China going to educate the new generation of leaders that will take it into the next century?