In China, a New Breed of Dissidents

Tiananmen Square Massacre (June 4, 1989)

From Wall Street Journal:

20 Years After Tiananmen, Beijing Tolerates a Safer Wave of Protest

BEIJING -- As she strolls through a park near her temporary home, Shen Lixiu glances warily at passers-by who may be listening in on her conversation.

The 53-year-old mother of two from China's eastern Jiangsu province appears no different from other park visitors, dressed in a loose shirt for summer and with short hair graying at the temples. But she has an unusual calling in life: She's a full-time protester.

Like many other activists today, she turned up in the Chinese capital to petition the central government over what she describes as a personal injustice -- in her case, the seizure of her business by local officials -- then stayed to fight for other causes. She started attending various protests about eight months ago. Now she protests at least once a week.

"We're defending human rights," Ms. Shen says.
Read more ....

My Comment: My first visit to China was in 1988. I have been fortunate enough to see how much China has evolved since then. But I have no illusions .... they still have a long way to go.

I remarked to my Government hosts in 1988 that while China has a culture and a history that is one of the oldest in the world, China was still (politically and socially) an immature child operating at a kindergarten level when compared to the U.S. or Canada .

After 20 years, I would have to say that China has just passed grade 3.

Grab The Post URL

URL:
HTML link code:
BB (forum) link code:

Leave a comment

  • Google+
  • 0Blogger
  • Facebook
  • Disqus

0 Response to "In China, a New Breed of Dissidents"

Post a Comment

comments powered by Disqus