InfoAnda - China Premier's call for reform draws accolades, and barbs |

Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case
Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They

Taiwan denies boycotting Australian film festival
Thursday, August 6, 2009

AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e

Merkel's support dips, regional ally resigns International
Thursday, September 3, 2009

By Sarah Marsh and Noah Barkin

BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German

Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who

Asian markets mixed after Wall Street rally
Wednesday, March 18, 2009

By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an

Yahoo! News | 22 May 2009
Fox to pick up Narnia franchise for third film | 30 January 2009
EU foreign ministers to meet on Gaza crisis | 30 December 2008

Israeli air strike kills five Gaza militants | 19 December 2010

Forum Views () Forum Replies ()

Read more with google mobile : China Premier's call for reform draws accolades, and barbs |

Edition: U.S. Article Comments (0) Full Focus Editor's choice A selection of our top photos from the past 48 hours. Full Article Follow Reuters Facebook Twitter RSS YouTube Read Near-Earth asteroid passes over Atlantic Ocean 27 Jun 2011 UPDATE 2-Wildfire reaches US Los Alamos nuclear facility 27 Jun 2011 Gay marriage foes appeal ruling on gay U.S. judge 27 Jun 2011 Lady Gaga sued over Japan earthquake charity bracelets 27 Jun 2011 US Supreme Court to decide police GPS tracking case 27 Jun 2011 Discussed 221 Biden deficit-cut talks hit impasse: Rep. Cantor 138 CBO sees government benefits swamping U.S. economy 112 Fragile economy pushed Obama to tap oil reserves Watched A Tokyo-Paris flight in under three hours on the horizon Fri, Jun 24 2011 Hefner's revenge; Ryan Reynolds stops traffic Fri, Jun 17 2011 Supreme Court: Game on! Mon, Jun 27 2011 China Premier's call for reform draws accolades, and barbs Tweet Share this Email Print Related News China's Wen signals doubt inflation goal can be met Mon, Jun 27 2011 Prominent Chinese dissident freed from jail Sun, Jun 26 2011 Prominent China dissident Hu Jia freed from Sat, Jun 25 2011 No interviews, Twitter, travel for Chinese artist Ai Fri, Jun 24 2011 China artist Ai Weiwei stays quiet after freed on bail Wed, Jun 22 2011 Analysis & Opinion Freedom — with Chinese characteristics China makes an uneasy saviour for Europe Related Topics World » China's Premier Wen Jiabao attends a joint press conference with Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron at the Foreign Office in central London June 27, 2011. Credit: Reuters/Carl Court/POOL By Chris Buckley BEIJING | Tue Jun 28, 2011 2:25am EDT BEIJING (Reuters) - A vain "screen idol" or a prophet of Chinese political change? In the wake of China's crackdown on dissent, Premier Wen Jiabao has again promised China's citizens democracy and human rights. The response from seasoned observers in Beijing on Thursday ranged from catcalls to applause. None, however, saw any prospect of the ruling Communist Party reining in its own vast powers before a big political shake-up next year. As Wen prepares to retire from late 2012, he has made a habit of calling much more forthrightly for political reform than his more cautious comrades in the Communist Party elite. Wen's latest call, made in London, stood out all the more after months of arrests and detentions of Chinese dissidents, human rights lawyers and long-time protesters that flew in the face of his mild message. "Without democracy, there is no socialism. Without freedom, there is no real democracy," Wen told an audience at the Royal Society during his visit to Britain. China is troubled by corruption, inequality and other social ills, said Wen, offering political reform as an antidote. "The best way to resolve these problems is to firmly advance political structural reform and build socialist democracy under the rule of law," he said. For skeptics, Wen's hazy words are a pre-retirement vanity project, burnishing his own reputation without venturing to achieve real change. "This was screen idol Wen staging a performance in London," Chen Yongmiao, a Beijing-based lawyer and commentator, told Reuters, using a put-down (yingdi) often used by Chinese people to poke fun at the premier's heart-on-his-sleeve public manner. Sympathetic observers said Wen is defending a liberalizing agenda that is beleaguered now but could gain ground after late 2012, when he and President Hu Jintao step down and make way for new leaders who could loosen the hardline policies of recent years. Both sides voiced their views on Chinese Internet sites and micro-blogging services as reports of Wen's speech spread. "He may be speaking from the heart, but it doesn't mean anything," said Chen. "The title of his speech was 'The Path to China's Future', and so are these things he talks about -- democracy, rights -- a hundred years in the future, or five hundred years? These days, there's a lot of pent-up social tension in China, and society might not be willing to wait as long as he thinks," he said. However, another Beijing-based lawyer and liberal commentator, Qiu Feng, said the criticism was unfair. "I think he should be applauded. The Chinese political scene is very delicate right now. Different people want to take China in different directions, and Wen is the one (leader) who points in the direction I think we should take," said Qiu, whose real name is Yao Zhongqiu. "Yes, this is rhetoric. But politics is to a large extent rhetoric, using words to spell out a goal and create consensus around it," said Qiu. "That's what he's doing." But Qiu and other well-placed supporters said there was no prospect of a significant relaxation before late 2012, when a Communist Party congress will anoint a new leadership. Even after the congress, political relaxation was by no means a given, they said. "Wen Jiabao knows he leaves after the Congress, and he has only his rhetoric as a way to set the direction for after then," said Qiu. NOT SO FAST Especially since China's 1989 armed crackdown that extinguished pro-democracy protests, Beijing has reviled any notion that it should embrace Western-style democracy. In recent months, China's leaders have revived that message, fearing that anti-authoritarian uprisings across the Arab world could inspire challenges to their own one-party rule. China's says its own definition of human rights gives priority to basic needs, such as enough food, housing and health care. Wen has a milder demeanor than other Party leaders, but he has defended the crackdown, and his broad notions of political reform amount to an effort to rejig, but not replace, Communist Party dominance. In London, he also chided Western "finger-pointing" over China's restrictions on human rights. But Premier Wen, who survived the ouster of his reformist boss Zhao Ziyang in 1989, has stood out as the one senior official who has repeatedly urged reforms to give citizens more say, even if he has not spelled out what changes he favors. He is now in the final stretch of his time in office, and he lacks a factional following in the elite that could give his calls a wider currency. As his power leaks away, Wen will have little more than his words to advance his legacy. "I think the voices calling for faster political reform will grow louder and more urgent, and Premier Wen is heeding those calls," said Du Daozheng, a veteran Party official and former head of China's press control apparatus who has published articles urging support for Wen's calls for political reform. "But he also has his conservative critics," Du, who is in his late 80s, said in a telephone interview. "The views inside the Party are not a single, undivided piece of iron and Wen Jiabao represents forces who favor gradual but practical reform." (Reporting by Chris Buckley; editing by Brian Rhoads) World Tweet this Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints We welcome comments that advance the story through relevant opinion, anecdotes, links and data. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters. For more information on our comment policy, see http://blogs.reuters.com/fulldisclosure/2010/09/27/toward-a-more-thoughtful-conversation-on-stories/ Comments (0) Be the first to comment on reuters.com. Add yours using the box above. Social Stream (What's this?) © Copyright 2011 Thomson Reuters Editorial Editions: Africa Arabic Argentina Brazil Canada China France Germany India Italy Japan Latin America Mexico Russia Spain United Kingdom United States Reuters Contact Us Advertise With Us Help Journalism Handbook Archive Site Index Video Index Reader Feedback Mobile Newsletters RSS Podcasts Widgets Your View Analyst Research Thomson Reuters Copyright Disclaimer Privacy Professional Products Professional Products Support Financial Products About Thomson Reuters Careers Online Products Acquisitions Monthly Buyouts Venture Capital Journal International Financing Review Project Finance International PEhub.com PE Week FindLaw Super Lawyers Attorney Rating Service Reuters on Facebook Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests. NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.

Other News on Tuesday, 28 June 2011
Radioactive water leaks from Tepco plant |
China Premier's call for reform draws accolades, and barbs |
South China Sea disputes could lead to war in Asia: think tank |
Peralta RBI triple keys rally in eighth as Tigers knock off Blue Jays
China says Sudan split on agenda as Bashir visits |
Ex-N.C. State basketball star Lorenzo Charles, 47, dead in bus crash
Women's World Cup: Japan edges New Zealand, Mexico-England forge tie
Venezuela opposition demand info on Chavez's health |
Michael Jackson "Thriller" Jacket sells for big bucks
Eton's ancient game thrives in Nigeria |
Kanye West's G.O.O.D. Music Label Signed to Def Jam
Pauly D calls current "Jersey Shore" cast "Irreplaceable"
Erik Compton brings new meaning to "heart" with Nationwide victory in Mexico
Barbra Streisand returns with “What Matters Most”
Former Illinois Governor Blagojevich convicted on several corruption charges
Analysis: Where does Cheick Kongo's epic comeback win rank in UFC history?
Microsoft puts Office in the cloud, confronts Google |
Sony says protecting content made it hackers' target |
Supreme Court to decide police GPS tracking case |
Chatting, texts, now apps distract young drivers |
Second proxy firm advises RIM CEO/chairman split |
British teen hacker suspect granted bail |
Venture firms seek light green tech bets |
TomTom guides lower again as consumers flee |
Lady Gaga sued over Japan earthquake charity bracelets |
Hugh Hefner's new girlfriend a Canadian Playmate |
Controversial Chuck Berry statue approved in St Louis |
Hot Coffee shows other side of frivolous lawsuits |
Alicia Keys backs Broadway play about black America |
Greek police clash with austerity protesters |
Prosecutor sees Gaddafi endgame, China cautious |
Flotilla activists seek blood: Israeli FM |
Yemen may retake oil pipeline, crisis persists |
Syrian opposition tells Russia: make Assad resign |
Senegal deploys extra troops as power cuts enrage |
Chavez health saga keeps Venezuela guessing |
Met Life in talks for naming rights to New Meadowlands Stadium
Argentine president cancels trip on health grounds |
Google boasts 500,000 Android activations per day |
Chicago business executive Hulsizer out of running to purchase Coyotes
Mobile banking to help 2 billion people by 2020: study |
Jennifer Aniston reveals tattoo is in 'homage' to her dog
Google faces damages claim from French rival 1PlusV |
British teen hacker suspect granted bail |
Weeks before independence, South Sudan teeters
Tom Hanks says there's more 'Toy Story' in the works
Hugh Hefner lines up another 25-year-old 'girlfriend'
AU Optronics hits Samsung with patent countersuit |
Cee Lo Green pulls out of Rihanna's tour
'Mob Wives' star Renee Graziano undergoes $30,000 full-body lift
Five pounds of cocaine discovered in shoes in abandoned luggage
Bearded Mickey Mouse causes stir in Egypt
Actress Yeoh blacklisted, deported from Myanmar |
Hugh Hefner's new girlfriend a Canadian Playmate |
BET Awards gets ratings boost amid on-stage snafu |
Mud rivals music at Glastonbury festival |
Greece at new risk of being pushed off euro
Bodies of missing Tenn. mom, Jo Ann Bain, and daughter found
Female Breasts Are Bigger Than Ever
AMD Trinity Accelerated Processing Units Now in Volume Production
The Avengers (2012 film), made the second biggest opening- and single-day gross of all-time
AMD to Start Production of piledriver
Ivy Bridge Quad-Core, Four-Thread Desktop CPUs
Islamists Protest Lady Gaga's Concert in Indonesia
Japan Successfully Broadcasts an 8K Signal Over the Air
ECB boosts loans to 1 trillion Euro to stop credit crunch
Egypt : Mohammed Morsi won with 52 percent
What do you call 100,000 Frenchmen with their hands up
AMD Launches AMD Embedded R-Series APU Platform
Fed Should not Ignore Emerging Market Crisis
Fed casts shadow over India, emerging markets
Why are Chinese tourists so rude? A few insights

USD EUR - 1 year graph		BlogMeter 1.01