Posted by Tina
“‘Erroneous’ Western democracy not for China says official” – Reuters
** BEIJING (Reuters) – China must build defences against “erroneous” ideas involving Western-style democracy, a top government official said in comments published on Sunday, shooting down recent calls by dissidents for political reform. **
** China’s ruling Communist Party has stepped up efforts to stifle dissent and protest ahead of politically sensitive anniversaries this year, and amid concerns that rising unemployment in a slowing economy could fuel broad social unrest. *** Jia Qinglin, China’s fourth-most senior official, demanded officials throw their weight behind the one-party state in an essay in the Party’s main ideological journal “Seeking Truth” (Qiushi), which was reproduced on major web portals on Sunday. *** “Build a line of defence to resist Western two-party and multi-party systems, bicameral legislature, the separation of powers and other kinds of erroneous ideological interferences,” said Jia, who is also head of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), a largely toothless parliamentary advisory body. *** “Consciously abide by the Party’s political discipline and resolutely safeguard the Party’s centralised unity,” Jia said, calling on CPPCC members to strengthen “ideological unity.” *** The essay comes weeks after hundreds of scholars, dissidents and former Party officials signed “Charter 08,” a petition campaign calling for open democratic elections and an independent judiciary. **
Hmmmm….makes me wonder what some leaders in the Democrat Party mean when they call for a unified America. Speaker Pelosi is reportedly once again writing bills behind closed doors and refusing input from Republicans and some fellow Democrats.