For example, just today I read that the government is instituting a 5% energy tax in the remote Xinjiang province. The response to the Honda strike and the string of suicides at the Foxconn factory were critical of management. Of course, the ownership of these plants was not Chinese; even so, the China Daily has pushing the line that it's time to leave the low-wage economy behind. China is also beginning to take more control over the strategic minerals, of which it has large share of the world's production.
The taxes levied on real estate knocked the Shanghai stock market down quite a bit. The papers have also been taking a critical attitude towards the wanton demolition of neighborhoods to make way for expensive commercial projects.
more at:
http://michaelperelman.wordpress.com/2010/06/03/brief-notes-from-china/
-- Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University Chico, CA 95929
530 898 5321 fax 530 898 5901 http://michaelperelman.wordpress.com