As I observe the People's Republic of China plunging ahead into an orgy of nationalist pride in celebration of their 60th anniversary, I cannot help but be amazed at the economic miracle that has silently taken place in that vast and troubled land over the past 30 years.

Emerging from the economic waste and the political turbulence of the Great Leap Forward (1958 - 1961) and the Cultural Revolution (1966 - 1976), China was dirt poor and backward both socially and economically.

It was essentially an under-developed nation engrossed in endless internal political struggles.