China's elite talk of 'democracy'

[zengrifter]

Among China's elite, talk of 'democracy'

By Joseph Kahn
Thursday, April 19, 2007

BEIJING: Like the spring showers that give its parched landscape a veneer of green, China's authoritarian leaders, approaching the end of their five-year terms in office, have suggested that they would like to see their country become more democratic.

Communist Party journals and the state-run news media have published a stream of commentaries by retired officials and academics on "political system reform" and the need for "socialist democracy," including a bold-sounding call for China to mimic Switzerland's worker-friendly, democratic governing style.

...more - http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/04/19/asia/china.php