Society

In the 60 years since Mao Zedong proclaimed the establishment of the Communist state, China has seen more changes than almost anywhere else on earth.

In Xi Bai Xin, on the northern edge of Beijing, I met an old man who has experienced it all.

His name is Mr Wang and he is 78 years old. When I spoke to him, he was standing at a market stall heaped high with produce, appraising the "si gua" - big vegetables like outsized courgettes.

The changes he has seen include: the establishment of Marxism-Leninism and the collectivisation of the land; the appalling upheavals of the Cultural Revolution; the great famine that killed millions; the alleged coup headed by Mao's favourite, Lin Biao, and his escape and death when it failed and the rise of the radical leftist Gang of Four.

Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao has rejected European pressure to let its currency rise against the Euro.

Speaking at a summit with EU leaders in Nanjing, Mr Wen said it was unfair of Europe to demand exchange rate changes while maintaining trade protectionism.

For the last 18 months, China has kept the yuan pegged to the weakening US dollar, hurting EU exports to China.

Mr Wen said maintaining China's exchange rate at a stable level had helped the world economic recovery.

Speaking after talks with European leaders and officials, Mr Wen said China would maintain what he called a reasonable and balanced exchange rate.

He said the stability of the yuan against the dollar had benefited China's economic development as well as the global recovery.

"We can be friends, and we can offer you a good life," the woman said to the class filled with new investors.

If any were skeptical, they didn't show it. Next came the young man, neatly dressed wearing a tie. He stood at a chalkboard writing mathematical equations that he said explained how this formula for investing would make them all rich.

Then came the big promise -- if everyone followed the formula, they could make $36,000 a month. Some cheered, others gasped, according to a video obtained by CNN,

This is all standard for pyramid selling -- but in China, it takes on another twist.

Often new members in the pyramid scheme are kept locked in semi-military style dormitories, isolated from the outside world and then inundated with promises of incredible returns on their investments.

Secret, illegal "black jails" exist in China, a state-run weekly has confirmed, despite official denials otherwise.

Chinese citizens in search of justice often end up in such detention centers when they file complaints against the government, the state-run weekly magazine Outlook reported last week.

A network of such jails awaits the petitioners when they travel to Beijing and provincial capitals to seek redress or compensation for injustices. Many are victims of land grabs, physical assault, discrimination and corruption, often at the hands of local officials.

"They come to Beijing out of desperation after they hit a dead end in their localities," said a government official who spoke on condition of anonymity, because he is not authorized to speak publicly.

Government officials have adamantly denied that such facilities exist.