Critics of China's one-party system have become surprisingly assertive. Just ahead of the Communist Party Congress (15-18 October) high-ranking party members, many of them retired journalists, posted an open letter on the internet demanding freedom of the press. The wording of the letter is quite strong by Chinese standards. RNW correspondent Marije Vlaskamp spoke to one of the critics shortly before he was put under police surveillance. 
 
When Tie Liu was released from a work camp after 23 years of hard labour he had just one objective, to petition the central government until it changed its view of the late leader Mao Zedong. After all, it was the radical politics of China’s revolutionary leader that took his freedom away from him as a young journalist.

That was during the purges of the 1960s, in which countless numbers of alleged ‘right-wingers’ disappeared in China. "I had written an article about civil servants. It was published in my newspaper and nobody thought much about it. All of a sudden, I was sent to a work camp for 23 years," says Mr Tie, now 73 and still in a fighting mood. He helped write a petition for press freedom which has been circulating on the internet since last week. "At my age, I don’t have a lot to lose."

Blunt letter
The open letter is exceptionally blunt. "We aren't making any suggestions. We are demanding an immediate end to state censorship!" says Tie Liu. The criticism came just ahead of the Communist Party's five-yearly congress in Beijing and less than a week after dissident author Liu Xiaobo won the Nobel Peace Prize.
 
This criticism has also come from unexpected sources. The signatories are high-ranking party members, most of them with a background in journalism. Some used to work in China’s state media and propaganda machine. The most prominent signatory, Li Rui, is now well into his nineties. He used to be a secretary to China’s revolutionary leader Mao Zedong and a former member of the extremely powerful Central Committee of the Communist Party. Many signatories have a ‘right-wing background’, which means they have tried to introduce reforms and be critical from within the Communist Party.

High expectations
The letter says “freedom of speech, press and freedom of association” are anchored in the Chinese constitution. On 26 February 2003, president and party leader Hu Jintao said “the removal of restrictions on the press was a natural process”. Prime Minister Wen Jiabao recently admitted to US news broadcaster CNN that “the call of the people for democracy couldn’t be ignored”. However, up to now under President Hu and Prime Minister Wen the high expectations for political reform have not been met.

Likewise, previous petitions for more press freedom have not had an impact. The critics of the one-party system think it is now or never, because the president and prime minister are due to make way for a new generation of leaders in 2012. Mr Tie:

"The cycle for change is 30 years. First, there were 30 years of poverty after the revolution, then 30 years of economic growth and open door politics. Now it is time for political reform."

‘Black hand’
The question is whether the political climate in the People’s Republic is ripe for change. The Chinese press has ignored Prime Minister Wen’s comments on press freedom and democracy. In China, it is the Central Propaganda Department that is responsible for censorship. The petitioners ask:

"What is this 'black hand', the Central Propaganda Department, which dares to put itself above our Prime Minister Wen and the State Council, the Chinese cabinet?"

Mr Tie: "It is an intangible and powerful machine which phones newspaper editors and orders them to ignore news. While information can be spread across the world in a couple of minutes, they want to maintain control over the media here using this old-fashioned censorship organisation."

At the weekend, other signatories of the open letter cancelled lectures. Mr Tie told RNW by telephone that after seven interviews he has been put under surveillance. “The police are outside my housing complex and I am not allowed to see any journalists for the time being.”