Prospects for political reform
How far will China’s pro-democracy activists push Beijing for political change?
Calls for reform have been mounting since Liu Xiaobo, a jailed Chinese political activist, won the Nobel Peace Prize on October 8.
Following the announcement, intellectuals including retired Communist Party officials issued an appeal for complete press freedom, stating the government’s grip on the media violated China’s constitution.
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On Friday, 100 more Chinese human rights activists called for the release of Liu, who is serving the first year of an 11-year prison sentence for subversion.
On Monday’s Riz Khan, we ask: Will China follow through on promises to reform its political system, and what are the prospects for true social change there?
Joining the programme will be China scholar Perry Link, a professor at the University of California, Riverside. He worked with Liu Xiaobo and other activists on an English translation of Charter 08, a 2008 manifesto that called for greater political reform and democratisation in China.
Riz also speaks to Xiao Qiang, a human rights activist and the editor-in-chief of China Digital Times.
This episode of Riz Khan aired from Monday, October 18, 2010.