policy so antithetical to the Chinese national character. However, once the success of the Open Policy was apparent, resistance to the plan by the Chinese people lessened. The implementation of the Open Policy was so successful that by 1988 the leaders of the CCP were encouraged to create a new program called the "coastal development strategy." In this program, even more of the country was opened up to foreign investment. It was modeled on the experiences of Taiwan and the other Asian countries. (Nathan 55-99) One analyst maintained that "China stands at the threshold of the greatest opportunity in human history: a new economic era promising greater wealth and achievement than any previous epoch" (Gilder 369). Illustrative of this optimistic feeling is Shanghai, an area that was designated for preferential conditions for foreign investment and as a base for the development of exports in 1988. This city, and the area around the Yangtze Delta area, has a population of approximately 400 million people and the city has become the nation's financial hub for international and national investors. For political reasons, this area was excluded from the original Open Policy designation in 1978. However, the increase in foreign investments has helped it catch up to those areas previously opened to the policy. The area received 3.3 billion dollars in foreign investments during the 1980s. The area received the same amount from foreign investments in 1992 alone. In only the first ten months of 1993, the area had received over six billion dollars worth of foreign investments (Tyler A8). Western analysts have asserted that the Open Policy and the coastal development strategy have allowed Deng to entrench his political power and will allow his power to be sustained even after death. (Shirk 47) With the influx of business into the area, it was necessary for the CCP to pump billions of dollars into improving the cities facilities. To that end forty b...
