it is a fair and balanced story. However, it is such an old story idea, and almost cliche. But even for reporting cliche, this lacks a new angle and greater depth. Pro-democracy movements from grass-roots have been going on for as long as the new government was built in 1949. This has been covered a lot by western media. Therefore, a new news story needs find a new perspective to be appealing.
Economist is reputed for its balanced and fair reporting (objectivity seems to be a out-dated term these days). Especially taken into account of its stance as a publication in a third-party country in this Sino-American currency "warfare", this piece delivers a full range of perspectives on this issue. Also, the language is quite concise and brief, better than layers of quotes which we usually find in other news reports. But one thing that needs our rethinking is the common practice of most news magazine to embed comments into news reports. It is a good way to provide more interpretation to contextualize the story. But it nevertheless affects the independent judgment of the readers.
This is a very complex issue. I believe the Chinese government, under the current circumstances, is doing everything they can to offset the negative impact of global economic downturn. Chinese currency has been appreciating for a whole year with accelerating rate, under the pressure of U.S. government. This is a gesture of sincerity of the Chinese side. The American side should appreciate this and not ask too much.
I worry about Tang Xiaozhao. As her full name and picture was published, I think the central government will soon find her and punish her in one way or another. Her motive is good, but getting exposed by Western media is not really a smart thing to do. Even for an activist, the most important thing is to protect one's own personal security.