The Chinese media are still on a short leash when it comes to criticizing the Party, but some have begun to do real stories on such issues as corruption and environmental damage. And while many pro-democracy activists remain in prison or in exile, hundreds of others continue to push the envelope. Last year, they declared the establishment of China's first real opposition party, the China Democracy Party. For six months they operated openly, recruiting new members and petitioning the government to let them register as a legitimate party. Eventually, three of the party's founders were arrested and sentenced to 11 to 13 years in prison - but others have not given up.
Political change happens slowly, here.
We just have to keep trying. The same could be said by pro-democracy activists in Burma, in Cambodia, in Vietnam and Malaysia. Over more than a decade of living in and reporting on East Asia, I've seen the quest for democracy repeatedly clash with dictatorship, heard the claim over and over again that Asian values and views of democracy are just plain different from those of the West. Strangely enough, it's usually the dictators or their supporters who proclaim such views. My government knows best.