Racism in China: How poignant is it?

Today's post by Andrew Sullivan on his blog over at the Atlantic discusses the specter of racism within China, and the implications it could have on both the social and economic future of the country. As the ratio of retirees to workers is set to double within the next fifteen years, questions surrounding the economic sustenance will begin to necessitate an influx of emigrants to keep the economy growing.

The issue of the aging populace is also punctuated by the disparity between the sexes that has arisen in the past few decades due to the one-child policy. With many young men unable to find wives and an increasingly old workforce, it's an inevitability that China will need more workers by 2025. However, the question remains: will Chinese society be capable of accepting such diversity within its own borders?

Of course, we know firsthand the tension that exists between ethnically Han Chinese and 'outsiders', but with the massive amounts of non-Han migration within China in tandem with the government's increasing influence in and outreach to Africa and the third world, could it possibly stay as pronounced? We also have our doubts that tension over civil rights could create the unity in diversity that has fueled the West's economic development, especially with a political system that requires a harmonious facade.

Photo from Alexia Webster via The Daily Voice