No more appeasement, West must push China to democracy

The belief that China would become more open once the Olympics had been awarded was wishful thinking. There was no substantial evidence to support this assumption. The Olympics is not moving the country to greater political liberalisation; rather, it is allowing it to hold political power in its grip.

To date there has been very little meaningful, constructive international pressure on China to address its problems, due to the lure of the trade dollar.

The Cold War has gone, but the battle between democracy and autocracy is far from over. It is essential democratic leaders act with courage and moral conscience when they make decisions that have global ramifications. It is also essential the public votes with a strong moral conscience to ensure the accountability of their leaders.

It is worth remembering the appeasement adopted by Neville Chamberlain and Edouard Daladier, which resulted in the tragedy of World War II. Their silent consent to the Nazis provided a short-term remedy but led to a long-term catastrophe.

We must leave no stone unturned in pushing China to become a multi-party democracy. It is time to call for an end to the West conveniently overlooking China's human rights abuses and opposition to democracy. It is time to act against a permanently communist China before it is too late.