Wang Guangwu's theory may not be like by Chinese leaders

Comments on Wang Gungwu “A change in Egypt’s political weather filters through to China”, 1/03/2011, http://www.eastasiaforum.org/2011/02/28/a-change-in-egypt%e2%80%99s-political-weather-filters-through-to-china/

The Tian An Men event on the June Fourth 1989 came before the fall of Berlin Wall, and the collapse of the former USSR.

After the collapse of the former USSR and the east Europe communist block (some before the fall and some after, but they were after all the Tian An Men event), Deng adopted the so called "dao guang yang hui" strategy, so China kept a very low international profile and was largely focused on its internal economic growth.

Now the events in the middle east and north Africa are still unfolding and the eventual outcomes remain uncertain.

How the Chinese communist government and leaders will view and learn from these events and what strategies they will adopt in the future are anyone's guess at the moment.

Wang's 'bian tian' has very different meanings to different Chinese. And I am sure he understands that very well, though in the post he has put it in the best light possible for outsiders to see the logic.

Will the communist government allow ‘bian tian’ to take place?

PS: Deng's strategy to focus on domestic economic growth made China a small target for the US and also brought about real economic benefits for many Chinese. Both were in China's interest and especially were helpful to the Chinese government in difficult times in the wake of USSR collapse.