For several years, a debate about political reform has been bubbling away in the upper echelons of China’s state apparatus. It has now received fresh fuel. Last week, the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Liu Xiaobo, a dissident. And on Tuesday a group of former party officials published a letter demanding an end to censorship in China. The Communist Party’s central committee, which convenes on Friday, could discuss changes to the country’s authoritarian brand of capitalism. This is a debate China’s people deserve.
多年來,在中國國家機器的最高層,有關政治改革的辯論一直掀不起多大波瀾。然而最近這種辯論獲得了新動力。上週,諾貝兒和平獎被授予中國異見人士劉曉波。而本週二,一羣前黨內高級幹部發表了一封公開信,要求廢除審查制度。將於週五召開的中共中央委員十七屆五中全會,可能就改革中國的威權式資本主義制度展開討論。對中國人民而言,這是一場值得進行的辯論。