Wei Jingsheng, the Chinese political activist whose famous 1978 “Fifth Modernization” was a major milestone in China’s democracy movement, is continuing his call for political reform. TimesOnline’s Jane Macartney reports:
Now an advocate for greater democracy and human rights in China, Mr Wei believes that the Communist Party has sown the seeds of its own demise by failing to implement political reforms as well as economic change. “This path will bring serious consequences,” he said. “The Communist Party and the people are at a crossroads and there are only two choices: the Communist Party can push political reforms or the people will lose patience and overthrow the party.”
He also predicted violence as a consequence of a rapidly widening gap between rich and poor. “This makes me very worried: worried about social chaos and that people are ready for revenge. So I think violence is getting closer and the chance of a will for peace is drawing further away.”
