One of the biggest overarching China stories of 2010 has to be the enigmatic tug-of-war over the issue of political reform, a debate that has been visible at times in China’s media and has shifted at other times to overseas media. At the heart of this debate were seven speeches on political reform given by Chinese Premier (温家宝) between August 20 and September 30. But the voices on political reform inside China, and within the broader Chinese community globally, were rich and varied.
In The Great Game of Political Reform: Wen Jiabao’s Seven Speeches on Political Reform, now available from Cosmos Books, CMP director Qian Gang compiles a diverse body of 2010 writings on political reform surrounding the remarks from China’s premier. The book is an essential read for anyone interested in the current and future climate of political reform in China, or in how this sensitive issue has been addressed by media inside China.


The book includes important analyses and commentary written this year by a range of writers inside and outside China, including Yanhuang Chunqiu editor Du Daozheng (杜导正), New Century editor-in-chief Hu Shuli (胡舒立), Beijing Film Academy professor Cui Weiping (崔伟平), blogger and former foreign ministry official Yang Hengjun (杨恒均), Yazhou Zhoukan editor-in-chief Qiu Liben (邱立本), writer Yu Jie (余杰), Southern Weekend columnist Xiao Shu (笑蜀), as well as the largely anonymous drafters (or “writer’s groups”) offering rebuttals of pro-reform arguments in the likes of People’s Daily and Seeking Truth.


David Bandurski

CMP Director

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