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发帖数: 93 | 2 http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/peterfoster/100088312/why-ai-
Why Ai Weiwei's case matters for the future of China on the world stage
By Peter Foster World Last updated: May 17th, 2011
There’s a perception in Britain that human rights issues in China are
really just a hobby-horse of the liberal left, an issue that only bothers
people who pay an annual subscription to Amnesty International.
That’s a big mistake, because human rights – or more broadly, political
reforms and good governance – are the fundamental key to China emerging
this century as a developed and stable nation. Everyone has an interest in
making that happen.
A recent report from France’s INSEAD business school picked up by the Wall
Street Journal traces the clear correlation between good governance (rule of
law, property rights etc) and prosperity.
Economically oligarchies and authoritarian states stall when they hit per-
capital income levels of about USD$15,000 a per head. China is predicted to
reach USD$8,300 this year, which means the time when these issues are
starting to press is fast approaching.
“Without reform, growth is not sustainable,” says Antonio Fatas, an
economist at INSEAD and co-author of the study, “This has clear
implications for China and other countries.”
That’s why Jim O’Neill of Goldman Sachs, on a visit to China last week,
said that his biggest worry for China was not near-term inflation, or asset
bubbles or bad debts but the Communist Party’s long-term ability to adapt
politically to a new world.
Asked about risks to the ongoing China story, Mr O’Neill (the man who
coined the BRICs acronym) cited inflation and rising protectionism in
Washington as “small” risks, before sounding his note of real caution.
“The third thing [risk to China], that’s much longer term; as Chinese
people get wealthier, the Chinese central party machine has to adapt more
and more to keep in synch with what Chinese people want, and that might be a
real challenge,” he warned.
That’s why Ai Weiwei’s case matters – not just as an individual human
being (though he does) but also because his case is symptomatic of the
failure of China’s ruling Communist Party to create credible political
institutions in which the rest of the world can have faith.
As Markus Loning, Germany’s human rights commissioner, said this week in
Beijing. “It is not about a single case, but the rule of law. If we want to
have development, it is important for people to claim that they are
protected [by the law].” |
