|
|
Article: City of glitter and ghosts: Shanghai. (China)
- Article from:
- The Economist (US)
- Article date:
- December 24, 1994
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1994 Economist Newspaper Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
|
FRAMED photographs in the front hall of the Shanghai stock exchange show elderly leaders from Beijing being led round by the exchange president, Wei Wen-yuan. Mr Wei looks like any keen young executive in London or New York--smart suit and tie, though, as far as one can tell, no red braces. The frail veterans from the Politburo, former Long Marchers such as Chen Yun and Yang Shangkun, look like peasants on a visit to the big city. In their Mao suits and blue worker's caps they gaze baffled, watery-eyed, open-mouthed, at a brave new world over which they could never have imagined they would one day preside.
The exchange is housed temporarily in the ballroom of the ...