Chinese Businesspeople and Expats Squeezed by the Man

Stress China a little bit and its government shows its true colors. China's stellar growth depends on the ability of its bright and hard-working businesspeople to make deals within and outside of China - and that growth has occurred despite the Chinese government. So now that the Olympics approach, the country goes into lockdown mode, and business be damned:

"Businessmen are also feeling powerless. Hong Kong executives accustomed to visiting mainland factories or construction projects every few days are now spending one day each week waiting for new visas that are only good for a single or double visit.

"I can't begin to explain how serious this is going to be," said Richard Vuylsteke, president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong. "A barrier like this is going to have a real ripple effect on business."

One hopes that China's new upper middle class will realize that this kind of heavy-handed isolation will damage the country's recent good fortunes. Because IF IT'S GOOD FOR THE CHINESE GOVERNMENT, IT'S BAD FOR CHINESE BUSINESSPEOPLE.