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Related articles: China > Democracy and Human Rights

On the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, people in China shared their reflections on life under the Chinese Communist Party. The New York-based Sound of Hope Chinese radio network made a series of random phone calls into the mainland to get an idea of the popular sentiment. Beyond a sense of disenchantment and exasperation, many saw holes in the current system, and expressed hope for the future.

One woman contacted, who called herself Ms. Miao, said that “democracy advocates have exposed the dark Iron Curtain and awakened many people. The CCP is in its final death struggle and it is as weak as the corrupt government of the late Qing Dynasty [1644-1911], which could only rely on the army to suppress those who resisted it at the end.

“In fact, if we want China’s Berlin Wall to fall, we have to depend on ourselves. We have to overcome our inner fears in order to pull down the Berlin Wall in our minds,” she said.

A resident of Hebei Province, who spoke anonymously, said that there have been too many dissidents who were convicted for expressing their opinions since the establishment of the CCP. “I have no hope for this regime. Can we [common people] subvert a country? No. It is the corrupt officials who are capable of subverting the state’s power—those who rob the people of their property and knowingly violate the law. It’s so obvious that this is just the same old ancient feudalistic way of incriminating those who freely express their opinions.”

He continued: “Indeed there are many people who have awakened. More and more people are pursuing the freedom of thought, speech, and the press… However, I don’t think the wall will fall immediately. If we don’t make the effort, it will be even harder for the wall to fall. So we have to constantly call on the people,” he said.

A Sichuan resident who did not reveal his name said that with the development of anti-censorship software, the Great Firewall of China now has numerous flaws, and that this has enabled many Internet users to break through the blockade to see the outside world.

“The CCP officials are corrupt. They waste public funds. They make ‘the Golden Shield’ something like a Berlin Wall to block foreign websites,” he said.

“However, people can still get information from other countries with anti-censorship software. The wall has holes everywhere.”

Read the original Chinese article.