Chinese Social Scientist Li Shenzhi

The conditions for further reforms in China are not only ripe, they are "overripe". And if democracy is not implemented soon, the corruption that the people find so repugnant will only worsen.

So said former deputy head of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences Li Shengzhi (李慎之, pictured).

Li noted that former Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping (邓小平) disregarded the very principles he had formulated by saying in 1992 that "if capitalism can have a market economy, so can socialism."

In a 2003 article titled Peaceful Times Call for Bold Reforms, Li asked: "So why can't our leaders say, "if capitalism can have parliamentary democracy, so can socialism," and open new prospects for Chinese politics?"

Li, who died the same year the article was published, added that only if Chinese leaders are bold enough to pursue reform "will they be able to save themselves and protect the legacies of Deng, Mao and the Communist Party."

Li also warned that if there is no peaceful evolution, "there will be violent evolution, or else revolution."

For many years, Li was a trusted spokesman for the Chinese Communist Party, but was later dismissed due to his blunt criticisms of the party. He emerged in the 1990s as a powerful critic of authoritarianism and a prominent exponent of Chinese liberalism.