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Blair: Give China's Leaders a Break

'Second Cultural Revolution' is transforming Chinese society

By Rob Quinn, Newser Staff

Posted Oct 9, 2009 2:39 AM CDT

(Newser) – Western democracies shouldn't stop asking China's leaders tough questions on human rights, but they also need to understand the huge task that lies before China and recognize the progress the nation has already made, writes Tony Blair. The number of Chinese below the World Bank poverty line has dropped 80% over the last 25 years, the former British prime minister writes in the Wall Street Journal. The country of 1.3 billion people is still undergoing an economic and political transformation on a scale that dwarfs anything else in history, he notes.

There's another Cultural Revolution under way in China along with the sweeping economic changes, Blair writes, and it's the opposite of the one that tore the country apart in the '60s. The Chinese are rediscovering their rich past and, in the process, reinventing their future and giving the rest of the world an opportunity to forge new ties. "How China changes will impact profoundly on how we change," Blair concludes. "If we treat China as our equal, China can be our economic, political, and cultural ally. That is an opportunity that is worth effort."

[Images (2)]

[Quotes (2)]

Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair speaks near The Climate Group's logo during a press conference held in Beijing, China. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

Former British Prime Minister Tony Blairnholds a solar panel with movie actor Jet Li, right, during a visit to launch a solar-power road lamp project in a village in Guiyang, China. (AP Photo)

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We may criticize the speed of political reform, and raise concerns about human rights and the rule of law. But we should at least understand that their political and economic endeavor is unique in human history.
- Tony Blair

Listen to people in China today—and not only in government—and you can see that even amid the celebrations of the 60 years of the People's Republic, China is rediscovering its history and reorienting its future as a result. -

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Blair: Give China's Leaders a Break