dr. liu has been a peaceful advocate of government reform in china for years. he's well-educated, polite, and the only institution he threatens in the chinese communist party. in america, we know that if the ruling party fails to meet the people's demands, it's out. apparently the CCP knows that, too.
why is china's government so worried? if chinese communism is all it's cracked up to be, wouldn't democracy allow their party to stay in control? the government has recognized corruption as one of the biggest hindrances of social development. why, then, will they not allow political competition, which would inherently eliminate some of the corruption? why even pretend to hide behind the smokescreen that china calls a constitution, when the most basic personal liberty - the right to free speech - is trampled on over and over again?
liu's charter 08 (中文) is a great piece of work, principally authored by a man who understands freedom's necessity. he calls for equality, social justice, rule of law (as opposed to rule of a single party), and proper stewardship of our natural resources. if the government were doing it's job, none of this would be warranted, much less threatening. the government's response shows just how scared they are of reform.
but what about reformers inside the government? what about premier wen jiabao?
wen wants reform. if he weren't shackled by communist propaganda, he might be able to implement some of his ideas. he is in china's highest eschelon of power, but they still censor his cnn interview. he's not crazy - he knows things would have to move slow - and that's why the party needs to let him run with it. if they wait until people are fed up with their rule, there's going to be a violent uprising. my advice: let wen do his thing; show the chinese people that the party is on their side.
the first way to do this is by easing censorship laws and RELEASING LIU XIAOBO. this would be a great indicator that china is serious about correcting its past human rights abuses and moving forward as a world power. just look around, are there any other one-party governments that enjoy the same status as, say, america, japan or western europe? no.
democracy doesn't necessicarily equate to freedom, but it seems the two are correlated. debate would help the communist party grow and meet the needs of its constituents. unfortunately, all the debators are in jail.
that's sad, and if china ever wants to make it to the top, which it obviously does, the central government is going to have to accept political reform as inevitable and ride it out. those who should win, win. those who should lose, lose. that's how the world works.
well written, uncle matthew. the longer china waits, the harder china falls. too bad they don't see it coming...
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