CNN International
Will There Be More Freedom and Reforms in China's Future?
By: Cheng Li
Christiane Amanpour (CA): First to China. So will there be more political freedom and reform in its future? I’m joined by Cheng Li, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution; director, also, of the National Committee on U.S.-China relations. He grew up in Shanghai during the Cultural Revolution before coming here to the United States. Welcome to the program.
Cheng Li (CL): Thank you for having me.
CA: So, you heard that very unusual dire warning from Hu Jintao. How surprised were you by what he focused on today? .
CL: Well I’m not surprised, but encouraged by this statement. The people in China talk about revolution, talk about corruption, talk about [how] the Communist Party lost its legitimacy in the wake of [the] Bo Xilai case and widely-spread corruption. But this is [the] first time from the top leadership [to] make a commitment, make a very clear statement that, unless the Party reforms itself, otherwise it will be kicked out of history.
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