The lack of big-picture reform attests to the older generations’ collective fear that fundamental structural changes will bring disruption and chaos, threatening the Party’s hold on power. They still remember the suffering of the Mao years, when China headed in the wrong direction – and tried to do too much too quickly – and they vividly recall how the Tiananmen protests brought the regime to its knees, and how urban labor unrest erupted when centrally managed state businesses were merged or closed down in the 1990’s.