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The Economist, arguably the mostprestigious weekly news magazine of the world, launched a weekly section onChina this week. This is a singular ”honor”, and  in my opinion as important if not more so thangetting a Nobel prize. Only two countries,  the US. (since 1942) and now China (2012) , noteven the USSR or Japan at their heights,  have special weekly section devoted tohappenings in these country alone. This of course speaks volumes about theposition of China, and the longevity of her position in the eyes of the world.All Chinese can be proud of this fact.

On the other hand,  given the current control of information bythe authorities  I am not sure if the contentof the magazine will be freely available in China.  After all, the Economist often arecritical in their writings about the US. There is no reason to expect thingwill be different in their reporting on China. What one can hope is that theleaders will take time and not be prevented to read the magazine. Unlikegovernments, the magazine, I am sure, is not controlled and representsindependent thinking. One may not agree with things they publish, but it is notwise to be ignorant about what they publish.