In my last posting I said it is easier to eradicate the "individual" corruption of China than to eliminate a "systematic" one like that in Western World, and I also indicated that Mainland China dares to sacrifice business of luxurious restaurants and boutiques to thwart the adverse trend of squandering money on corruption-related spendings such as junkets, sweeteners, etc..

In fact, ordinary consumers won't pay much attention to those conspicusous consumption of which the prices are always prohibitive; besides, too many luxuries will sting the average consumers and may make them have a sense of relative deprivation, a catalyst for social unrest.  I believe luxurious consumption doesn't play a pivotal part in the economy of a big country like Mainland China, but normal consumption does.   

Yesterday WantChinaTimes reported that Mailand China continued to grow in double digits during the first half of this year despite government efforts to curtail official excesses and fight corruption, which has a sanguine outlook for the Chinese economy as consumer spending emerged as the new driving force behind growth.  The report even said that phenomenon "also reflects signs that the Chinese market is transitioning into one where public spending has a greater sway than government officials, which is good news for retailers who now have to make fewer efforts to cultivate ties with politicians in return for business favors." 

See?  It works.  Mr. Xi, please don't loosen your effort towards the crackdowns on corruption, and please find out a even bigger "tiger" than Zhou.  In the meantime, please also perfect the relative anti-graft laws and regulations.  Ruling strictly by law is one of the most important things for Mainland to do.