Political reform is likely to be high on the agenda of a closed-door meeting of China’s communist leaders today amid growing strains between a population demanding more rights and a bureaucracy increasingly using illegal means to maintain its grip on power.
Like most of the topics for discussion during the central committee’s annual four-day gathering, it is unknown whether the beating inflicted on the civil rights campaigner Lu Banglie in Taishi village at the weekend was raised by any of the 354 delegates. But even if his case was overlooked, countless other examples of unrest and violence have called into question the government’s authority and the sincerity of Beijing’s promise to move towards greater democracy and respect for the rule of law.
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