Dr. Yang Jianli, the founder of Initiatives for China and Harvard
University Senior Research Fellow, spoke at 2008 International Conference
on Global Support for Democracy in China and Asia (GSDCA)

In his speech, Dr. Yang said the core issue of the Beijing Olympics remains
whether the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) can legitimately represent the
Chinese nation. As with the June 4 Democracy Movement, The turmoil
surrounding the Olympics presents another crisis for the Chinese
government’s claim to legitimacy in front of the eyes of the
world. The Chinese government continues its virtual rule by martial law
with tight surveillance of every apartment and total control of the news
media. Nonetheless, all of their efforts fall short because their
legitimacy is being questioned more seriously by the Chinese people. All
segments of Chinese society show strong impatience with the CCP government
and their national police system. The Beijing Olympics may not be as
peaceful as the Chinese government is expecting. “The CCP has only two
topics to talk about, “Dr. Yang commented, “one is the fast growing
economy and the other is nationalism. The former one is solid but the
latter is shallow”. The CCP will continue to work around the two topics
with their lies, violence, fear and corruption. He further expressed, no
matter
what would happen during the Olympics, China still must face the issue of
Democracy. He identified five variables critical to the development of
democracy in China. These factors are:
1) Non-government forces in Chinese society together with the anti-CCP
movements; 2) The internal struggles of CCP and its political development;
3) The evolution of inter-ethnic relationships; 4) The course of the
China-Taiwan relationship; 5)The international climate. this factors will
drive the future course of political changes in China.

Dr. Yang’s speech sparked intense discussion among the conference
participants, which included: Japanese Parliament members, Seishu Makino,
Tmazawa Tokuichiro, and Yukio Edano; German former Congressman/Vice
secretary of National Defense Klause Rose, Austrailia Congressmen Mark
Bishop and Michael Danby, Canadian Congressman Rob Anders, Taiwan
legislator Li Hongjun. Many Chinese Democratic Movement activists such as
Xu Wenli, Sheng Xue, Hu Ping, Fei Liangyong,Pan Yongzhong, Xue Wei, Yi
Jun, Wang Tingfang, Wang Jinzhong, Fang Zhongning also were in attendance.