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Can Wen Jiabao reform the Communist Party of China?

Demon of Light

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A new surge of demands for liberal political reform added an unexpected twist to deliberations at today's annual policy making meeting for leaders from the ruling Communist Party of China.

Leading the charge has been Prime Minister Wen Jiabao, who has repeatedly, if cautiously, argued the need for political change in recent months.

One letter, a remarkable plea by 23 former senior officials, including a former secretary to Mao Zedong, urged an end to press censorship. Another, signed by a wide range of liberal intellectuals, called for the release of imprisoned dissident Liu Xiaobo, who last week won the Nobel Peace Prize.

Source: Christian Science Monitor

The press here in the West may be skeptical, but I think this kind of pressure will have a major impact. Many groups have been pushing reform from within the government and from outside the government. China's next generation of leaders seem to be more liberal-minded and that probably means we will see more notable reforms. Of course, one should dispel the notion that they will ever adopt the system of Western democracy as other nations in the region have.
 
Is suspect China will implement a slow series of reforms, similar to the PRI system in Mexico. Throwing the public a bone every now and again keeps them just satisfied enough to avoid revolution, while keeping the current power base mostly intact. Over time, you get transition to actual democracy as reforms build up over time.
 
Source: Christian Science Monitor

The press here in the West may be skeptical, but I think this kind of pressure will have a major impact. Many groups have been pushing reform from within the government and from outside the government. China's next generation of leaders seem to be more liberal-minded and that probably means we will see more notable reforms. Of course, one should dispel the notion that they will ever adopt the system of Western democracy as other nations in the region have.

Well, I continue to voice that China's current capitalistic path will force it to address its social issues. It simply cannot sustain past social prescriptions while embracing westernized economic bases. The world would benefit from an American/Chinese team. The future threat in the world will not be in China. It will be elsewhere.
 
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Well, I continue to voice that China's current capitalistic path will force it to address its social issues. It simply cannot sustain past social prescriptions while embracing westernized economic bases. The world would benefit from an American/Chinese team. The future threat in the world will not be in China. It will be elsewhere.

I completely agree. In the short term, I think a lot of Westerners will be disappointed when individual initiatives like this (probably) don't get very far. But in the grander scheme of things, China is clearly on a path toward more openness and liberalization. It seems like there aren't many countries that are much wealthier than China currently is, that aren't at least semi-democratic. Authoritarian rule is fine when countries are developing from dirt-poor to middle-class (and it may even help), but beyond that it's a hindrance. Economic development and political liberalization seem to go hand in hand. China cannot hope to continue developing as quickly as it has been, if it censors the internet and the press.
 
I completely agree. In the short term, I think a lot of Westerners will be disappointed when individual initiatives like this (probably) don't get very far. But in the grander scheme of things, China is clearly on a path toward more openness and liberalization. It seems like there aren't many countries that are much wealthier than China currently is, that aren't at least semi-democratic. Authoritarian rule is fine when countries are developing from dirt-poor to middle-class (and it may even help), but beyond that it's a hindrance. Economic development and political liberalization seem to go hand in hand. China cannot hope to continue developing as quickly as it has been, if it censors the internet and the press.

And I don't think we (as a government) are far at all from embracing the idea of an American/Chinese united front in this world. Both sides see it. Ralph Peters (if you are familiar with him) has been writing on this for over a decade. He has constantly talked about the need for China to develop its social prescriptions in order to meet its capitalistic and industrializing demands.
 
China cannot hope to continue developing as quickly as it has been, if it censors the internet and the press.

I do not think there is a country in existence free of censorship. The issue is the level and nature of censorship.
 
Well, I continue to voice that China's current capitalistic path will force it to address its social issues. It simply cannot sustain past social prescriptions while embracing westernized economic bases. The world would benefit from an American/Chinese team. The future threat in the world will not be in China. It will be elsewhere.

While none of us can see into the future, I would caution you against that theory. It's wishful thinking -- the Chinese government can absolutely maintain political and social communism while embracing slightly more free-market economic principles.

It'll just mean the Chinese government will have more money to spend on its social and political policies. XD
 
China's leaders have a rare opportunity at this time in History to make great strides in every theater of human endeavor to become a truly great Nation and another beacon of hope for the future of all man kind with a little common sense and use of the tools and manpower at their disposal.

Holding on to a system that they have known for some time is going to eventually collapse is not going to lead to anything but more suffering and conflict at home and in the world .

A leader who sees this could seize the moment and become one of if not the greatest leader in human History by putting forth a program of reforms that leads them away from Communism and on in to a system that rewards human achievement and discovery and leads them into a place in the World community to be envied rather than feared.

As we move away from what made our Nation the greatest ever in Human History, China has the opportunity NOW to either replace us as the World dominant power or to join with us if we had a leader who could convey to them a MESSAGE not of capitulation or Appeasement but of joint cooperation in building MANKIND and this little planet into something worthy of all the struggle and hardship we as the Human race have endured up to now.

It would not be easy by any stretch and it can never happen as long as we The United States are in the process of moving toward what they have been slowly moving away from.

Right now is when we need someone at the helm who is a true visionary who in more interested in the final outcome than some temporary move to an ideology that in the end is distend to fail as all such endeavors have done in the past.

Believing that we can achieve any meaningful goal either from the barrel of a gun or from forcing people into a system where redistribution of wealth is the answer is well lead only to more of the same things that have plagued man since the the first power struggles took place before recorded History.

Who is going to step up and put our future as the Human race above personal gain and some need for personal gratification?

I don't see that visionary so far but I do have hope that he or she is out there.

We as the Humans o this Big Blue Marble deserve better from all World leaders than we have seen so far.

Do you know anyone who can articulate what we need to move on to greater levels than we have ever dreamed possible.

It could be done and it might only take one individual to start the ball rolling.

Just a thought.

Call it silly or too simplistic but I know it is possible and should cost nothing to try.
 
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And I don't think we (as a government) are far at all from embracing the idea of an American/Chinese united front in this world. Both sides see it. Ralph Peters (if you are familiar with him) has been writing on this for over a decade. He has constantly talked about the need for China to develop its social prescriptions in order to meet its capitalistic and industrializing demands.

I think the opposing paths of America and China's development (China's on the up, having recently attained the status of global power, and America is on the down, slowly losing importance in the world) were already starting to clash before the regression -- but post-regression, a huge portion of US-China ties have been severed. I'm dubious of anything beyond the current Chinese-American economic co-operation.
 
Source: Christian Science Monitor

The press here in the West may be skeptical, but I think this kind of pressure will have a major impact. Many groups have been pushing reform from within the government and from outside the government. China's next generation of leaders seem to be more liberal-minded and that probably means we will see more notable reforms. Of course, one should dispel the notion that they will ever adopt the system of Western democracy as other nations in the region have.

Read up on....China's Best Actor: Wen Jiabao

'China's Best Actor: Wen Jiabao' -- Yu Jie's banned book on sale in Hong Kong | CNNGo.com

Grandpa Jiabao is nothing, but a decoy. Hu Jintao tells the clown Jiabao what, when, where and how say things
 
Read up on....China's Best Actor: Wen Jiabao

'China's Best Actor: Wen Jiabao' -- Yu Jie's banned book on sale in Hong Kong | CNNGo.com

Grandpa Jiabao is nothing, but a decoy. Hu Jintao tells the clown Jiabao what, when, where and how say things

It won't be surprised that Grandpa Wen really aspires to be "China's Best Actor" and hopes to win an Oscar in a Hollywood movie after retirement from politics. It will be a great disappointment to him if he fails to be "discovered" by a Hollywood director after retirement.

Whatever happens to Grandpa Wen's fortune, however, will be no cause for concern for author Yu. If "China's Best Actor" succeeds to win an Oscar in a Hollywood movie, Yu could be crowned "China's best author". If not, the author will still earn a big fortune from his book by then.
 
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