Business as Usual

BEIJING: In perhaps the greatest tribute to Deng Xiaoping's campaign to rid his country of the personality cult that had done so much damage under Mao, China is taking his death in stride. Markets in Hong Kong, Beijing and Taiwan were up on the first day after Deng's death as investors continued to pursue Deng's famous exhortation, "To get rich is glorious." Nowhere was the contrast to the past more evident than in Tiananmen square. It was here in April of 1976 where tens of thousands of Chinese gathered for several weeks in an outpouring of grief over the death of Premier Zhou Enlai. That gathering soon snowballed into a public protest against Mao and the Gang of Four, triggering a tough government crackdown. Thirteen years later, Deng ordered a far more brutal crackdown in April 1989 when students gathered in the vast public square to demand democratic reforms. On Thursday, the square was surprisingly calm and accessible to the public, reports Beijing bureau chief Jaime FlorCruz: "At dusk on Thursday, Tiananmen looked serene. The national flag was at half-mast, but everything else looked business as usual. People walked on the square, some taking pictures of each other. Nearer the Monument to the People's Heroes, a crew of workers were dismantling a wooden structure used as decorations during the Chinese lunar new year festivities. At one corner, near Mao's Mausoleum, six teenagers played soccer with gusto. A few blocks away from the square, a group of residents walked up to the gate of Deng Xiaoping's city residence to offer a paper-wreath. Guards at the gate accepted the wreath and nervously told the visitors to go home." U.S. anaylsts believe that Deng's death in unlikely to cause any major shakeups, in part because the government had already adjusted to life without him. In part since China has decided not to invite any international guests to his funeral on Tuesday, Secretary of State Madeleine Albright will cut short her scheduled trip to Beijing, compressing talks with Chinese officials into one day on Monday. "Overall, however, the timing of Deng's death was not too bad," notes FlorCruz. "The socio-economic situation is under control. Public perception on the severity of corruption and inflation has improved. After the successful soft-landing, the economy is enjoying a high growth rate while keeping inflation below 10 percent." All in all, not a bad measure of Dengs leadership.