avinash.godbole

17th Party Congress The 5 th   Plenary Session of the 17 th   Party Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) was recently held in Beijing. This plenum is particularly important because it comes at the cusp of an important political transformation as well as the beginning of a new phase in the Chinese economy.  What is the importance of this Plenum?  My perspectives on the Plenum has been published  here on OpinionAsia . I welcome your criticism and comments!

good morning sunday Originally uploaded by fotumania! recent click, used picasa for editing

Why PRC does not like Liu’s Nobel Prize?   Since China’s dissident intellectual Liu Xiaobo was announced to be the Nobel Peace Prize winner for the year 2010, debates on democracy and China have got a fresh lease of life. Liu Xiaobo, main architect of the Charter 08 and a prominent voice on democratisation, human rights and rule of law in China, who has been under arrest since December 2008 under the charge of “inciting the subversion of the state power” is suddenly being projected as a hero of the epic struggle for democratisation in and of China. On the other hand, the Chinese media, visibly upset with the award to Liu, is busy projecting him as a villain and the Nobel Committee as the agency that wants to destabilise the People’s Republic. This is completely on the expected lines as can be understood from the trajectory of the previous debates on China, democracy and human rights. West accuses China of abusing human rights and ignoring the rule of law. China in return accuses th