Last week’s decision to award Chinese Liu Xiaobo with the Nobel Peace Prize was hailed by many around the world, but condemned by the Chinese government. Calling the award an “obscenity”, China has since cancelled two high profile diplomatic meetings with Norwegian officials and even a concert, though the parties involved had little to do with the Nobel committee’s decision. The basis of their anger, it seems, comes from the view that notions like human rights and universal values are essentially Western concepts, and are contrary to China’s own values. Hence, champions of greater political freedoms like Liu are marked as dangerous, because their ideas are essentially anti-Chinese, undermining the state’s stability and growth.
With China’s growing economic clout, this argument seems pretty hard to refute. In recent years, China has worn its economic successes as a badge of pride, silencing Western critics who have struggled to provide for their own citizens. And since it will only grow stronger, hopes of China expanding its citizens’ freedoms appear dim — except something else is happening. Increasingly, the call for liberalization hasn’t been coming from other countries or dissidents like Liu, but from the party’s own rank-and-file. Consider this fascinating letter by former party elders, for example, a document which almost looks like it could have been written by the West. Also, the release of Premier Wen’s previously-censored interview with Fareed Zakaria has come as somewhat of a surprise to Chinese, where Wen himself admitted that “needs for democracy and freedom are irresistible”.
For critics of human rights and universal values in China, these developments will come as a major setback. If the argument solely took place between Western and Chinese parties, the answer would be equivocal. However, with a growing rift among Chinese concerning the issue, the argument against universal values fails to make sense. If universal values do not exist at all, then what is it that appeals to Chinese like former secretary Li Rui, or premier Wen Jiabao? Unless the party somehow considers these people non-Chinese — a statement which makes no sense — then human rights cannot be anti-Chinese at all.
Therefore, I think we have grounds to be optimistic about the future liberalization of China’s political freedoms. It probably won’t come in the form of drastic changes such as the end of single-party rule, but we will increasingly see China’s leaders warm up to the idea of human rights as something meaningful and important for its own development, rather than just a Western construct.
PHOTO CREDIT: Joseph Gio