India - China: Relations And Developments-2

[Capt M Kumar]

W ho is China’s First Dissident? Many China observers believe that it is not Mr Liu Xiaobo who was recently awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, but the Prime Minister (or Premier in Communist jargon) of the country, Mr Wen Jiabao, who will be visiting India between December 15 and 17. During the last few months, Mr Wen Jiabao has spoken on several occasions on the same theme as the Nobel Laureate; each time he has been censured by the ‘authorities’ of his own country. http://www.dailypioneer.com/303739/Wen-a...i-Chi.html



Take his visit to the United States in September. Mr Wen Jiabao was interviewed by Fareed Zakaria for CNN’s Global Public Square. When Zakaria asked Mr Wen Jiabao about freedom of speech in China, the suave Premier, known as ‘Grandpa Wen’ in the Middle Kingdom, replied, “I believe freedom of speech is indispensable for any country — a country in the course of development and a country that has become strong. Freedom of speech has been incorporated into the Chinese Constitution.” He then continued in the same vein, “I often say that we should not only let people have the freedom of speech, we more importantly must create conditions to let them criticise the work of the Government.”