Today a hero is free.

[techs]

In a previous post http://forums.windrivers.com/showthread.php?t=60789
I talked about :
"Jiang Yanyong, a nationally renowned surgeon, Communist Party member and People's Liberation Army veteran was the doctor who blew the whistle on the SARS outbreak in China. He forced the Chinese to admit there was something called Sars and to do something about it"

He was jailed by the commies for writing about his experiences treating the victims of Tianemmen Square.

Here is the good news from the NY Times today:

Chinese military authorities have released the prominent surgeon who exposed China's SARS cover-up and condemned the 1989 crackdown on democracy protesters, apparently bowing to the doctor's status as a local hero and to international pressure to free him, people informed about his case said Tuesday

.

While SARS turned out not to be a global killer as epidemics go the fact that it was so highly contagious and that China tried to cover it up could have threatened millions or even billions of lives.
This guy was true hero. Despite the fact he is free with conditions the fact that he is free is great news. btw he is 72 years old.
He is the definition of Hero.

[ilovetheusers]

Do you think they will have a democratic government within our lifetimes? I feel it's inevitable.

[techs]

Do you think they will have a democratic government within our lifetimes? I feel it's inevitable.

Not really. I believe that "democracy" as we know it is an endangered form of government. While democracy in name will survive real choices will be limited. I think that this is the result of larger populations recieving there info thru fewer competing sources.
I also think we are headed to a "corporate" style world where companies will have far more power than governments.
I would make the argument that Russia is somewhat democratic today because their economy failed. China learned the lesson of Russia and the better the Chinese economy is the more people believe in communism and the more they support their current form of government. By the time China has all the manufacturing moved to it from the rest of the world the chinese people will have seen so much economic success over such a long time the "success" of communism will be ingrained not just for generations but for hundreds of years, like in the US where our economic success has convinced us our political system is so right.