China became a technological leader of the world during its imperialism. Granted there weren't that many democracies around the world at the time, so we have no

China became a technological leader of the world during its imperialism. Granted there weren't that many democracies around the world at the time, so we have no point of comparison. The few period where there existed a democracy in the world (ancient Roman, for example), it's quite hard to compare the two, and what worked in the past might not work in the present. But my point is that it's just not simply a clear cut issue of "democracy", "democracy" like everyone in the West like to chant whenever they talk about China (and to certain extend, East Asia as a whole). Look at Japan, one party (Liberal Democratic Party) has been in control of the goverment since 1955 - and not because of corrupted election or anything like that. The social and cultural situation in East Asia is much difference than the West.