China: Shocking insight - "Lifeless youth, desperate middle class"

Gao Shanwen delivered an unusually candid speech about China's economic problems. A broad public discussion followed - and the party censored surprisingly late.

Gao Shanwen, chief economist at SDIC Securities and former advisor to the Chinese State Council, has caused a stir in China with an unusually frank speech. His words, spoken at an investor conference in Shenzhen, show the tensions between the official narrative and the reality of the country's economy. Although his speech has since been censored, it has…