China mustn't starve its economy of information

China's economic slowdown seems to have caused anxiety in Beijing over popular unrest, but attempts to keep bad news away from people could prove self-defeating for the regime

For decades, a global guessing game has focused on whether the people of China will tire of single-party rule.

Any failure to sustain a heady pace of economic expansion, went one hypothesis, would stir mass discontent and put its Communist regime on notice.