Chinese People vs. Chinese Government

I'm not sure if I need to explain this since almost all of my blog audience is Chinese (not in China of course, as Blogger.com is blocked by the Chinese government). A lot of my posts about China seem to be negative but all the criticism is directed at the Chinese Communist government.

I've met a lot of people from China, both here in the U.S. and during my trips to Beijing and Chengdu. Most of the people are nice, hard-working, and not very different from the typical American. However, I seem to have an instinctive hatred of the communist government. Maybe I blame them for the physical and cultural separation from my ancestral homeland, though not growing up in China during the 1970's is a good thing. Or maybe it's their use of fear and intimidation on fellow Chinese people for personal greed and corruption of power and money. Not least is the death of millions and millions of ordinary Chinese people caused by Mao and failed policies of the communist regime during the 50's and 60's.

Economically, it's true that the standard of living is higher in China since WWII and less people live in poverty. However, the gap between rich and poor is incredibly huge, ironic for a communist country. I believe that those who benefited the most are communist party members and their friends/family. Imagine how much more prosperous China would be today if its development was more like Singapore, Taiwan, or even South Korea.