The following is excerpted from “China’s Premier Acknowledges Serious Economic Crisis,” The Epoch Times, May 30, 2020. Since China has no freedom of speech and no free press and the internet and social media are constrained, when a Chinese leader admits that things are not well, they are probably much worse than he admits. “Chinese leader Xi Jinping said during his 2020 new year’s message that his goal was for China to become a ‘moderately prosperous’ society in the coming year. But Xi’s target seemed out of reach, according to Li’s latest comments. When a reporter asked Li about China’s plans for eliminating poverty and growing the middle class, Li answered: ‘Our average annual income is 30,000 yuan ($4,198). But there are 600 million people whose monthly income is only 1,000 yuan ($140).’ China’s population is 1.439 billion. 600 million is roughly 41.7 percent of the total population. The premier also admitted that the pandemic has done serious damage to China’s economy, using the analogy of ‘a big car driving on a road covered with thorns.’ Beijing will cut down on expenses, and has also ordered local governments to do the same, he said. Li also announced that the central government will issue national debt and local government bonds–valuing 2 trillion yuan ($280 billion) in total–to prop up the economy.”
(Friday Church News Notes, October 23, 2020, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143)