Change to China's Self-Strengthening Movement

[heliostellar]

I'm curious on the changes that were made to China's Self-Straightening Movement from Ricky to VIP. Why in event 12518 ("The Self-Strengthening Movement") were the multiple free random techs not considered as good a token amount of RPs? Personally, I think 10 RPs are a drop in the hat, especially where China's techs are delayed longer than a year most of the times because it can't produce a whole RP per year. Those points will disappear quite quickly and they will have much less net effect on the player who will just get one slightly accelerated tech.

I think this event has been severely weakened. Was it considered unbalanced by giving too many techs?

 

[Ryke]

My guess is that it was considered unbalanced considering it's actually possible to increase RP generation quite a bit. It stays slow until you civilise, but it's still very possible to civilise by 1880-1890 or earlier without too much trouble, and in that time, considerable military power will have been amassed compared to the rest of Asia.