Blueprint allays concerns about safety of assets

What did private business owners want most from the all-important political conference that was held last week to decide the future course for the nation?

When I pondered this issue, I thought about Lao Zhang, a successful, rich businessman, who I met more than 10 years ago. He had emigrated to an English-speaking country but lamented the misery of his life there.

"I don't have any friends and I don't speak the language. When I look out of the window at the busy street from my condominium in a high-rise building, I keep asking myself what I'm doing there," said Lao Zhang, who was in his 50s then. What had kept him from going insane, he said, was the consolation that he was now safe with his wealth. "I used to think my money was really not mine in China. I could easily become penniless because it could be taken away from me anytime."