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Liu Xiaobo points way to gradual PRC
reform
By Chen I-chung ³¯©y¤¤
Jailed Chinese writer and dissident Liu Xiaobo (¼B¾åªi) has just been awarded the
Nobel Peace Prize. Last year, just around Christmas, Liu was sentenced to 11
years in prison for ¡§inciting subversion¡¨ as a co-author of Charter ¡¦08, even
though it was little more than a low-key manifesto for the rights of the Chinese
people.
The day before the Nobel Committee named him the recipient of this year¡¦s peace
prize, several overseas human rights campaigners denounced Liu for being a
¡§moderate,¡¨ saying he was not critical enough of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
Radicals did not see him as being radical enough, as he advocated a gradual path
to constitutional democracy in China, believing that it wasn¡¦t something that
could happen overnight.
Nationalists and the New Left also came out in criticism of Liu. These groups
attacked the ideals of democracy and democratic reform in the name of
anti--Westernization, saying that constitutional government was not suited to
China. For them, liberal democracy is ¡§US-style democracy¡¨ or ¡§Western
democracy¡¨ and as such does not conform to Chinese national sentiment or
incorporate anything ¡§Chinese.¡¨
Liu¡¦s concept of gradual political reform, however, does have merit. Last year
China witnessed just shy of 100,000 demonstrations. This year, spending on
maintaining peace and order has actually exceeded military expenditure. The
whole national public expenditure would probably not be enough to contain public
discontent. The problems stem from China¡¦s political stagnation.
Social stability is certainly important, but the way Chinese authorities enforce
order differs very much from a democratically ruled nation. China cannot go on
like this forever, and cracks are already showing. Capitalism has not only
ushered in rapid economic development, but also an increasing clamor for
people¡¦s rights. Maintaining order by suppression alone will not work in the
long run. It¡¦s a dead-end policy. The legendary founder of the Xia Dynasty, Yu
the Great (¤j¬ê), is said to have tamed the floods in ancient China by digging
drainage channels to divert the floodwaters, as simply shoring up flood defenses
had failed. The CCP would do well to learn from his example.
The anti-democracy rhetoric of the nationalists and New Left is born out of
narrow-minded nationalism. As for anti-CCP radicals, they fail to take into
account the fundamental nature of Chinese society today. China has to develop
the correct social and political conditions over time if it is to transform
itself into a stable constitutional democracy. Rome, as they say, was not built
in a day.
Taking a gradual approach is not an excuse for delaying political reform, which
will only lead to ruin for Chinese society. Should Liu¡¦s Nobel Prize be
interpreted as an attempt by the West to continue lording it over China, it is
China that stands to lose. Liu¡¦s award gives us hope that China can still embark
on the gradual road to political reform, and that it will be able to do so
without meeting many obstacles on the way. One day we might look back on this as
China¡¦s first tentative steps to her ¡§political rise.¡¨
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