This is a country that just a generation ago went through the Mao famines, that murdered 50 to 100 million people through forced starvation. As recently as a few decades ago, they still had traditional gulags, and still have re-education camps. During one stretch a decade ago, they famously were executing people in large numbers in stadiums via firing squad, to rapidly &#x27;solve&#x27; outstanding crimes - they still do this to a lesser extent today [1].<p>Even now, the value of life in western China is considered very low. They have half a billion people living on $2 to $3 per day. I don&#x27;t think there&#x27;s a single example of such a poor country that has had a first world style (eg Sweden, Canada or Germany) consideration for the bottom 50%.<p>[1] <a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.huffingtonpost.com&#x2F;2014&#x2F;05&#x2F;28&#x2F;china-arrests-terrorism_n_5403143.html" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.huffingtonpost.com&#x2F;2014&#x2F;05&#x2F;28&#x2F;china-arrests-terro...</a>