With the Chinese media gushing over the success of the Olympics, the latest issue of Southern Window — a highbrow news magazine with a circulation of 500,000 — caught my eye. The cover illustration features a couple of law textbooks and a teacher with a wooden pointer giving instruction to a businessman and a government official. The coverline: "Rule of Law Starts With Limitation of Power." Sounds boring? In China, it's almost revolutionary.

The Chinese Communist Party wasn't explicitly mentioned, but since it holds virtually all of the power in China, the articles were clearly about how to limit the party's all-pervasive reach and allow the Chinese people some wiggle room. Anything that touches on limiting the power of the party is extremely sensitive — and often very dangerous. So amid the euphoria of the Olympics, it was pretty gutsy of Southern Window to publish stories with headlines like, "When Administrative Power Obstructs the Law" and "Putting 'Boxing Gloves' on Police Powers."

The magazine's editors have fired an opening shot in a debate that started the moment the closing ceremony's last firework exploded: What now for China? Will party hardliners, emboldened by the world's timid response to their brutal pre-Games crackdown on dissent, continue to tighten their grip on power? Or will the spirit of volunteerism and community that arose after the May earthquake in Sichuan be revived? Could reform-minded party officials — like those who approved the publication of Southern Window's special issue — gain ground in their drive to loosen control over areas such as the courts and the media?

Not all Chinese are asking those questions at this very minute; many are basking in the residual glow from all those fireworks and gold medals. Despite numerous controversies ahead of the Games — turmoil over the Olympic torch relay, the bloody suppression of Tibetan riots in March, and so on — the Games went spectacularly smoothly. Senior party cadres can give themselves a pat on the back for a job well done.

Not for long, though. It is hard to exaggerate just how important the answers to those fundamental questions will be for China. Chinese society has reached a point where maintaining the status quo is simply not an option. Beijing is barely able to keep a lid on the tremendous social dislocation caused by the country's pell-mell economic growth over the past 30 years, and the consequent misery suffered by untold millions — the unemployed, the landless, tens of millions of migrant workers laboring under inhuman conditions, the countless victims of widespread corruption. Government officials have acknowledged that up to hundreds of so-called mass incidents occur every day. These often violent eruptions of frustration occasionally threaten to spread into chaos; as the Olympics loomed, they were more tightly controlled, or often simply ignored by the media. Now that the Games are over, it's a good bet that the turmoil will resurface.

"There are serious issues that have been accumulating, including ethnic problems in Tibet and Xinjiang, as well as social issues and conflicts that have been temporarily covered up by force to guarantee a 'successful Olympics,' " says He Weifang, a Peking University law professor and reform advocate. "I cannot predict whether there will be an immediate outbreak of all these problems after the Olympics. But there will be an outbreak if the government does not take steps to tackle the domestic problems."

For President Hu Jintao, who made the successful staging of the Games the centerpiece of his presidency, a moment of truth looms. He will face mounting pressure to loosen the party's grip on power. Nicholas Bequelin, China researcher for Human Rights Watch in New York City, believes the pre-Olympics tightening of controls is actually contributing to rising social discord. "The pressure is building in the pressure cooker, and there's no current avenue for it to be released. I believe we will see many calls both inside and outside the party to put some sort of reforms on the agenda again," Bequelin says.

Nor is the pressure for change coming only from the marginalized. Those who have benefited the most from China's booming economy, in the swelling urban middle class, are also increasingly pushing the authorities to grant them more rights and freedoms. It's a contagious process. Last year's protests by thousands of citizens in the coastal city of Xiamen against plans to build a billion-dollar chemical factory ultimately forced the cancellation of the project. And the protests directly sparked copycat demonstrations against planned mega-projects in Shanghai as well as Chengdu in Sichuan province, which occurred just a few days before the earthquake devastated the region in May. "Chinese are trying to get government off their backs," says Bequelin. "This has nothing to do with the legitimacy of the Communist Party or debates about political systems."

The Games taught us that pressure from the outside world on issues like human rights and civil society has little effect on Beijing. Now it's up to the Chinese people to take matters into their own hands and really begin the building of the new China.

True, foreign policy has little effect on encouraging the Chinese government to release their grip on their human rights and freedom of speech issues. All it does really is serve to remind the Chinese that if the they desire such things, all they need to do is tell their government they want it. All eyes in the world, including my own are waiting to see the development of the Chinese populace. We are quickly seeing a rise of a middle-class Chinese family who are experiencing a period of growth in wealth and social status. As China develops into a more modern country, the average Chinese person will develop a taste for material goods and a sense of freedom. So will the Chinese people seek for less government control and more freedom or will they stay with the status-quo? It's a wait and see process.

Cubone85 wrote:

True, foreign policy has little effect on encouraging the Chinese government to release their grip on their human rights and freedom of speech issues. All it does really is serve to remind the Chinese that if the they desire such things, all they need to do is tell their government they want it. All eyes in the world, including my own are waiting to see the development of the Chinese populace. We are quickly seeing a rise of a middle-class Chinese family who are experiencing a period of growth in wealth and social status. As China develops into a more modern country, the average Chinese person will develop a taste for material goods and a sense of freedom. So will the Chinese people seek for less government control and more freedom or will they stay with the status-quo? It's a wait and see process.

yea,we don't know when and how China goverments improve its policies for our these ordinary people ! But frankly speaking, if China changes its internal polices, just a little relevant to us ! For me, if i can get a high wage job, that's enough. In fact, not so much chinese people care how's the chinese political direction going ! Most of people care if they can live better and more comforable, now, withe the rapid economic growth, the ordinary chinese people have changed a lot in lives ! You know, this's enough !

The foreign politicians always criticize for chinese human rights , but in fact, not so much chinese people care human rights ! we care just are " how much can i earn on day or one month?" "how can let my parents or my childern live better?", these are so important for most of ordinary chinese people !

That's true. For the most part, as long as you have money in the wallet, a good job, a roof over head, and food to feed your family, you would not really care about government and how poor its human rights. Heck, I'm probably sure everyone would agree with that if that was the case. However, as people, such as middle class people, working class people, and other separate groups of people obtain a certain amount power or influence within the country, they will demand in some things, such as the quality of health, tax breaks, human rights, etc. For instance, if you are a coal worker in the mines, and there are very few if any safety measures, you will demand several things. Increase pay, better health benefits, better safety measures, and so on and so forth. Of course, if the government doesn't do anything, you'll obviously protest, but as you know, the Chinese government tends to keep protests down to a minimum as seen in the recent earthquake and the parent protest of the death of the children, and several other examples. Obviously, if you can't protest and demand what you want initially, your demands will eventually lead to human rights first before you can demand anything else.

Now, maybe you won't be a coal miner or maybe you won't be a parent, but that's not my point. My point is that once you do get that good high paying job, you have that house you always wanted, you eat abundantly, and you have money to buy what you want; however, if you feel the need to protest on something you hold dear that the government isn't fulfilling, and the government tends to subdue protests, you will most likely ask for your human rights.


You may not feel this way immediately since as you said, Chinese care more about how you earn a day or one month and how can parents make their children live better. But eventually, the Chinese will reach a level where they have all the things they want, and after they have the materials - a house, food, and money, they'll want more in terms of human rights and safety.

A good example is early 1900 American history. Most Americans enjoyed a good life. Plenty of jobs, houses over their heads, plenty of food, and so on. But the country was wreck with poor quality food and other bad government policies. Then came along a group known as the Progressives who led the way to reform of government in order to make life better for Americans. 1900 is the past and it was in the United States, its 2008 and I'm talking about China, and I'm certain the Chinese people will eventually demand human rights once they reach that certain level of success, which I know they will reach - not now or tomorrow, but some time in the future.

Cubone85 wrote:

That's true. For the most part, as long as you have money in the wallet, a good job, a roof over head, and food to feed your family, you would not really care about government and how poor its human rights. Heck, I'm probably sure everyone would agree with that if that was the case. However, as people, such as middle class people, working class people, and other separate groups of people obtain a certain amount power or influence within the country, they will demand in some things, such as the quality of health, tax breaks, human rights, etc. For instance, if you are a coal worker in the mines, and there are very few if any safety measures, you will demand several things. Increase pay, better health benefits, better safety measures, and so on and so forth. Of course, if the government doesn't do anything, you'll obviously protest, but as you know, the Chinese government tends to keep protests down to a minimum as seen in the recent earthquake and the parent protest of the death of the children, and several other examples. Obviously, if you can't protest and demand what you want initially, your demands will eventually lead to human rights first before you can demand anything else. Now, maybe you won't be a coal miner or maybe you won't be a parent, but that's not my point. My point is that once you do get that good high paying job, you have that house you always wanted, you eat abundantly, and you have money to buy what you want; however, if you feel the need to protest on something you hold dear that the government isn't fulfilling, and the government tends to subdue protests, you will most likely ask for your human rights. You may not feel this way immediately since as you said, Chinese care more about how you earn a day or one month and how can parents make their children live better. But eventually, the Chinese will reach a level where they have all the things they want, and after they have the materials - a house, food, and money, they'll want more in terms of human rights and safety. A good example is early 1900 American history. Most Americans enjoyed a good life. Plenty of jobs, houses over their heads, plenty of food, and so on. But the country was wreck with poor quality food and other bad government policies. Then came along a group known as the Progressives who led the way to reform of government in order to make life better for Americans. 1900 is the past and it was in the United States, its 2008 and I'm talking about China, and I'm certain the Chinese people will eventually demand human rights once they reach that certain level of success, which I know they will reach - not now or tomorrow, but some time in the future.

haha,yea, you're totally ture !

Don't worry, chinese people surly wanna the demands of Rights some day, but not now , the current China is just like the 1900' America ! CHina needs time to develop its rights and other aspects !

This moment, the core for chinese goverement is how to develop economy and sustain the whole society stable! ! !

Perheps when 2020 or later, it's very common for chinese people to see the Human rights !

and what about freedom?
freedom of expressing yourself, freedom of word?
isn't that the base of a healthy country?

Communism in China will collapse sooner or later, when the poor farmers can't deal with the situation anymore.
Someday it'll become a real democracy.

Communism doesn't seem to be working in a way people would be treated equally.

patricia003 wrote:

and what about freedom? freedom of expressing yourself, freedom of word? isn't that the base of a healthy country?

It actually generally is a myth and propaganda. There is never unlimited freedom of expression.... there are always rules that infringe upon it in some way. Healthy may be when you get a strong majority to agree that the ways your infringing upon it are reasonable.

8993an wrote:

Communism in China will collapse sooner or later, when the poor farmers can't deal with the situation anymore. Someday it'll become a real democracy. Communism doesn't seem to be working in a way people would be treated equally.

Communism is not collapsing in China. Chinese communism has been 'evolving' over the past 20 years to make its economy compatible with the open market. This system has been extremely successful in contrast to Soviet communism which did collapse because it was reformed too drastically, too quickly. China is moving steadily towards a stable compromise or 'third way' between state control and the free market.

And what do U think would make chinese communism system collapse?
their love for making spectacular things which aren't always the best choice,
for example the Three Gorges Dam?
In fact Chinese people and people of that region are difficult for Europeans to understand,
i suppose we just can't fit them into any system.