China's 70th birthday: A nurtured narrative

THE People's Republic of China is celebrating the 70th anniversary of its founding this week with fireworks, a huge parade showing off its latest military hardware and a vast outpouring of facts and figures to show the progress that had been made under Communist Party rule.

The achievements are real for the most part and celebrations warranted but, behind the facts and figures lies a not-very-glorious story that the party would prefer the rest of the world not to know.

In recent weeks, white papers have flowed from the government, covering such things as improvements in life expectancy, in per capita GDP, in healthcare and also about how China's development is a huge contribution to the world.