> * You can't leave your village without a pass There are valid practical reasons for this. Infrastructure such as roads, hospitals, schools, etc... can simply

> * You can't leave your village without a pass There are valid practical reasons for this. Infrastructure such as roads, hospitals, schools, etc... can simply not cater for a massive influx of people from rural areas. The alternative to this is probably giant slum cities that surround every major city (as what happens in other parts of the world). > * You can't have more than one kid Although this is horrible - and things such as forced abortions is heretic there are good reasons for this. There are huge overpopulation problems in China. Culturally many people are also inclined to get more children (since children traditionally cared for parents and were an old fashioned "retirement plan"). I would go further and argue that the rapid increase in population is responsible for much of Africa's non-development. > * No freedom of expression Between personal freedom and economic freedom I would prefer economic freedom. Of course China is not a democracy with all the nice associated things (freedom of expression, etc...). However, if China were a democracy it would probably have succumbed to a kleptocratic leftist rule - as 95% of other 3rd world countries.