Southeast China, also known as the "Gold Coast" is as prosperous as any other of the high-powered Asian economies.
In fact, many scholars believe that the massive wealth accumulating there will tear at the fabric of China, splitting the country into multiple states. There are million-man worker protect in central China that the world doesn't talk about, but the dimplomatic and business communities do. I read a piece in COMMENTARY Magazine a few years ago even speculated where these new boundaries would lie.
Here is how I forsee the new Chinas breaking down:
-A "Cantonese Republic of China", incorporating Hong Kong, Macao, Guangzhou (greater Hong Kong), part of the Gulf of Tonkin, and possibly even Hainan Island. This region of China speaks a different dialect than the rest of the country and is the most economically advanced of any part of China. Civila liberties are also higher here than anywhere else, with the spread of Hong Kong-based individuals to Guangzhou.
-A Nanjing-Shanghai-Fuzhou nation-state along the Taiwan Strait. This is the second-most economically-advanced part of China. Jiang Ziamen and his cronies run Shanghai and therefore possess massive political clout. Nanjing was the capital of China until the WWII (remember the Rape of nanking?) The bulk of PRC military assets are also in this region.
- A "Republic of Manchuria" will incorporate Beijing, the Chinese rust-belt in Shenyang Province along the North Korean border, and the Gobi Desert in North-Central China. This will be the leftover husk of the PRC.
- The "Republic of Yunan", probably the most beautiful part of China, will be centered around the massive city of Kunming. The region has a shared bistory with the Buddhist cultures to the South and is currently expanding trade through the region.
- Tibet. No explanation needed.
- Eastern Turkestan. This is the muslim separatist movement in China you hear so much about. They literally have nothing in common with China's ethnic Han majority and have been brutally reporessed by them for centuries. Eastern is basically a Central Asian muslim state just like all the other "-stans"; no different.
- Taiwan. Taiwan is the original Republic of China. THEY ARE ALREADY THE SECOND CHINESE STATE.
So, we have 7 Chinas in the end.
China has remained united and intact continuosly for the past 5000 years
China did not break up during the time of the;
"WARRING STATES"----2500BC, when 5 warring states fought each other continuosly
"THE OPIUM WAR"----1860-1900 when all the major Western Powers attacked her simultaneously
"THE 2nd WW" , 1937-1945, when Japan bombed her back to the Stone-Age. The Chinese fought on against overwheming odds,suffering great hardships, and losing 38 million dead,
"THE CIVIL-WAR" 1945-1949 The Cummunists against the Nationalist Armies
The GREAT CULTURAL REVOLUTION, When the country was in total chaos. The Maoist against the Moderates
Will China break up now ?????
A good question......