HONG KONG — "When many Western observers look at China," the former Singaporean diplomat Kishore Mahbubani writes in his latest book, "The New Asian Hemisphere," "they cannot see beyond the lack of a democratic political system. They miss the massive democratization of the human spirit that is taking place in China."

At a time when the Chinese people have mobilized themselves to cope with the May 12 earthquake, with untold numbers volunteering to give blood, to donate money and to actually travel to devastated towns and villages to help the afflicted, it is easy to see the country's current vibrancy. There is a new spirit abroad, different from that before Deng Xiaoping launched the country on the road of reform and openness 30 years ago.

This book is full of insights — and contradictions.