San Francisco, January 17, 1995. According to an article published by San Francisco Chronicle, "Economic reform, trade and human rights are all at risk if the next Chinese leader feels compelled to prove himself China's supreme leader, with the death of Deng Xiaoping nearer, and the United States must be ready for the turmoil his passing will create. In an interview last week,Deng's daughter said the health of her 90-year-old father had declined in recent months. Deng is China's champion of free markets. 'Poverty is not communism', he once said, and in his 16 years of rule, China became a world economic power. Without Deng, that is threatened so is the subservience of the military, which has bought prosperity by starting hundreds of its own businesses. Progress depends upon Deng's successor, who can determine the pace of modernization and the extent of investment by foreigners. Free enterprise in China has always existed uncomfortably with continuing political repression. In the last few months, China has re

sorted to a hard line on trade and human rights, as if any softening of policy might indicate a softening of the state. China has fought democratic reforms in Hong Kong, which reverts to Chinese control in 1997".