Introduction
Liu Xiaobo, the primary drafter of Charter 08, has just been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for 2010 for “his long and non-violent struggle for fundamental human rights in China.” The award signals international recognition of the Chinese people’s quest for justice, universal human rights and democracy through peaceful means.
China is a rare example of a Leninist party-state that wields power in the wake of the collapse of communism and the Soviet Union in the late twentieth century. Its remarkable economic growth for three decades has triggered enthusiasm home and abroad for the “Beijing Consensus” or the “Chinese Model”, a loose conceptualization of the Chinese experience in achieving economic growth, capitalist development, rapid urbanization and social change at the expense of human rights. Contrary to the view that human rights and social justice are dispensable in order to achieve economic efficiency and create wealth, contemporary Chinese society shows signs of deep striving for human rights, constitutional democracy, social justice and equitable distribution. These values are clearly articulated in the monumental document Charter 08 and powerfully exemplified in recent waves of social protest.
The publication of Charter 08 in China at the end of 2008 was a major event generating headlines all over the world. It was widely recognized as the Chinese human rights manifesto and a landmark document in China’s quest for democracy. However, if Charter 08 was a clarion call for the new march to democracy in China, its political impact has been disappointing. Its primary drafter Liu Xiaobo, after being kept in police custody over one year, was sentenced on Christmas Day of 2009 to 11 years in prison for the “the crime of inciting subversion of state power”, nor has the Chinese communist party-state taken a single step toward democratisation or improving human rights during the year.1 This article offers a preliminary assessment of Charter 08, with special attention to its connection with liberal forces in China.
