The seduction of the West by China

The political problem

There is no election of leaders, no independent jurisdiction, no freedom of speech and the press and no freedom of association. All powers are with the Chinese Communist Party.

About three weeks ago President Hu Jintao visited the US. Some US congressmen urged President Obama to raise the freedom issue. I believe that this kind of limited pressure will achieve very little as the core problem is not human rights, but the unchecked political power in the hands of one dictating party. It is naive to seek fundamental improvement in human rights without the necessary removal of the one-party dictatorship.

The self-immolation (cremation) of a youth in Tunisia sparked a huge wave of united action across the entire country, resulting in the stepping down of the president - which then impacted on Egypt. Countless acts of self-immolation have taken place in China. But there were no shows of united strength, no revolution. Why is that so? The barbarity and sophistication of the Chinese government is one reason - and the defeatist and resigned nature of the people is another. One thing I can be very sure of; the Chinese repressive rulers are very uncomfortable about what is happening in Tunisia and Egypt - whilst the oppressed ordinary people are inspired by it. It could be the wake-up call which reminds Chinese people that freedom and democracy can only be achieved by fighting for it - not waiting for it. Since Tiananmen in 1989, the Chinese Communist Party has become accustomed to mild criticism. It is fully aware that the West pays lip service to human rights and is not seriously committed to planning strategies and outcomes. It will not push for the political democratization that truly could improve the fundamental human rights situation.

When the West urged the Chinese Communist Party to initiate political reform, the Party simply rejected the request. Then the West stepped back and focused on human rights. After two decades both the West and the Chinese Communist Party are familiar with the tactics of each other - and both are happy to play this game.

China has had a repressive one-party political system for a long time. For the West which deals regularly with China, that may be just the China they want - while fostering an elaborate set of delusions based on the belief that commerce will lead inevitably to political change and democracy.

The Nobel Peace Prize Committee made an announcement on 8 October 2010 to award Liu Xiao Bo the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize. The response of the Chinese government was to prevent people from mainland China from attending. Thuggish treatment was employed to harass domestic human rights activists. One such victim was Hua Ze, a film maker and human rights activist, who was kidnapped and put under house arrest for 55 days (until the ceremony in Norway was over).

But, this award will help towards China's future political reform. It is important to see the award as a new starting point of China's political change. Lech Walesa, Nelson Mandela and Kim Dae-jung, went through the path from prisoner to laureate and president of their nations. Will Liu Xiao Bo follow their footsteps? I cherish this expectation.

It is almost impossible to expect such a gargantuan country to change politically without foreign intervention. Without French support, George Washington could not have defeated Britain to win independence; Sun Yat-sen would not have led his anti-Manchuria revolution to success without the covert support from Japan, Vladimir Lenin would not have been able to set up the Soviet Union without the financial backing from the German emperor. For the same reason, Mao Zedong could not have won over the civil war against Chiang Kai-shek without support from Stalin.

The Chinese democratic movement desperately needs such support from the West. Only in this way, could the Chinese democratic movement hope to set up democracy in China.

President Ronald Reagan initiated a star wars program to bog down the rival's fragile economy. This eventually brought about the dissolving of Soviet Union and its Eastern European bloc. The West is gullible to assume that China could be so transformed from enemy to friend, not by a similar policy, but by its own economic growth.

President Bill Clinton did not use his clout to push autocratic China into a democracy. Instead he delinked the human rights issue from trade. This enabled China to emerge as a potential super power.