Should a Confucian revival occur among the PRC's general populace, it might prove the equivalent of the various religious revivals that have overtaken the West on occasion during the past few centuries. Many Chinese people are interested in finding answers to a range of personal and societal problems, insists Wen. But religious movements have taken root in China in the past and often have been linked to concurrent or subsequent political upheavals. This fact troubles China's leaders and probably accounts for the severe repression that Christian groups and members of Falun Gong, for example, have encountered in recent months. Wen indeed even prophetically warned me that there could be a crackdown against the sect's disciples.
China faces major challenges today.
Joblessness is growing markedly. At the same time, voices of change threaten the Communist Party in the post-Deng era. The intelligentsia and elites are clearly grasping for a new path. The quest expresses doubts suffered in the wake of reduced economic prospects and helter-skelter social transformation. Wen pauses to tie a loose shoelace on his Nike sneaker.