Lt. Governor Andre Bauer met in Columbia Thursday with Minister Guangyuan Liu the second-highest ranking person at the Chinese Embassy in Washington, D.C.

Bauer says experts believe that the structure of China is changing a lot and it will be different in a generation or two.  “They are slowly getting people in their political system that are not members of the party, because of capitalism,”  he says.  “It’s going to change that country.  It’s creating more of a middle class and that will change the demographics and who is in control, as the middle class is becoming more educated and financially well off.  And they will become more vocal and expect more rights, as we have come to expect in the western world.”   

Bauer had some background to prepare him for the meeting. He has been to China.  “I went with the Aspen Institute,” he says.  “They pick 20 political leaders from around the country.  I was the only one from South Carolina, but a professor at Wofford College was our teacher.  We went to India and China, to see how government works, how politics are different there, and to try to build some relationships along the way that will be mutually beneficial.”  [Read more...]