This was posted in a chat room this morning.

"The chinese people are being urged to buy gold and silver and how the government is making it easy for them to do so. You can buy gold in China at any bank--even tiny banks in tier-3 cities sell gold. More importantly, however, the government is setting up official Chinese Mint stores all over the country. On the inside, they look like jewelry shops--armed guards, glass viewing cases, etc. But instead of diamond crusted earrings and white star sapphires, you see bars. Lots of bars. We went into several stores and saw Chinese people buying like crazy... all with cash.

One aspect of this is that it will make it impossible for another military power to seize this part of china's gold holdings. by dispersing gold widely among the population, it will be more difficult for the Chinese public to be quickly impoverished in a war, short of nuclear annihilation. I see this as an indication that china expects tumultuous financial and political changes soon, the kind that are often followed quickly by military aggression.