Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Wen Calls Again for Political Reform

Third time in the last few months, this time during an interview with CNN:
In a rare interview, aired on CNN on Sunday, Mr Wen said: "I believe I and all the Chinese people have such conviction that China will make continuous progress and the people's wishes and need for democracy and freedom are irresistible. I hope you will be able to gradually see the continuous progress of China."

Premier Wen also said he has faced “resistance” from sections of the Chinese leadership in taking forward political reforms in China, for the first time indicating that there was a split between leaders of the Communist Party over the sensitive question.

He said freedom of speech was “indispensable” for any country, and warned the next generation of leadership, which takes over from him and President Hu Jintao in 2012, that those who went against “the will of the people” would “fail.”

2 comments:

  1. He said freedom of speech was “indispensable” for any country, and warned the next generation of leadership, which takes over from him and President Hu Jintao in 2012, that those who went against “the will of the people” would “fail.”

    That seems like pretty strong wording...

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  2. Yeah, he's been getting more and more aggressive lately. Now the speculation is about whether hes just trying to get these statements on record before he leaves office, or if hes actually trying to shake things up before the 2012 leadership change.

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