Roundup: Historian's Take This is where we place excerpts by
historians writing about the news. On occasion this page also
includes political scientists, economists, and law professors
who write about history. We may from time to time even include
English profs. SOURCE: Chicago Tribune (8-5-07) Mao Tse-tung
used to celebrate "contradictions" as the driving force behind
history. So what would he make of the contradictory pulls
shaping Chinese politics today? Consider two recent news
stories: One on the closing of a Starbucks at the edge of the
Forbidden City in Beijing, the other an open letter criticizing
Communist Party leader Hu Jintao. Each, in a curious way, can be
linked to Mao. And each says something unexpected about China.
The shuttered Starbucks is a stone's throw from the spot where
Mao stood in 1949 to announce the founding of the People's
Republic. A giant, iconic portrait of Mao now hangs there, at
the Gate of Heavenly Peace. But the closing of the Starbucks had
nothing to do with reverence for M