Reform that negatively affects people's interests may lead to resis tance that not only thwarts reform but also threatens social stability and the careers of politicians who are deemed responsible for unpopular consequences. Accordingly, governments must be adept at managing social forces and control ling social change by adopting appropriate strategies.1 In democracies, politi cians' worry over unpopular reform stems from the political system that sub jects them to the vote of citizens.2 This, however, does not imply that reform in authoritarian regimes, where there is a lack of meaningful elections, would proceed more easily. The collapse of the former Soviet Union following its vari ous efforts to change the Communist system points to the difficulties inherent in reform. Martin Malia concludes that "communism cannot be reformed or given a human face; it can only be dismantled and replaced."3 In China today, various reform measures have generated numerous con flicts in society. In rural areas, fiscal reform and the resulting financial burdens on peasants have led to continual and widespread resistance: "The Chinese countryside has seen more disturbances during the twenty years of reform than during the previous thirty ... the second half of the 1980s was more agitated than the first half, and ... the 1990s have been more unsettled still."4 Mean