Leituras da semana

Na semana em que a repressão chinesa no Tibete volta a ser notícia, é interessante ler o artigo de capa da edição deste mês da Prospect e ficar a conhecer um pouco melhor esta superpotência, que evolui a várias velocidades. Mark Leonard introduz-nos nas universidades e nos centros de investigação chineses, retratando a classe intelectual do país. Iniciou a sua pesquisa em 2003 e o que esperava encontrar, então, era muito diferente:

«I had imagined that China's intellectual life consisted of a few unbending ideologues in the back rooms of the Communist party or the country's top universities. Instead, I stumbled on a hidden world of intellectuals, think-tankers and activists, all engaged in intense debate about the future of their country. I soon realised that it would take more than a few visits to Beijing and Shanghai to grasp the scale and ambition of China's internal debates.»

Cinco anos depois da sua primeira visita à Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, que tem 4 000 investigadores nos quadros (!), conta que encontrou um espaço de liberdade:

«Paradoxically, the power of the Chinese intellectual is amplified by China's repressive political system, where there are no opposition parties, no independent trade unions, no public disagreements between politicians and a media that exists to underpin social control rather than promote political accountability. (...) While it is true there is no free discussion about ending the Communist party's rule, independence for Tibet or the events of Tiananmen Square, there is a relatively open debate in leading newspapers and academic journals about China's economic model, how to clean up corruption or deal with foreign policy issues like Japan or North Korea. Although the internet is heavily policed, debate is freer here than in the printed word (although one of the most free-thinking bloggers, Hu Jia, was recently arrested). And behind closed doors, academics and thinkers will often talk freely about even the most sensitive topics, such as political reform.»