Chinese dissident groups around the world are betting on an impending regime change in mainland China, and they intend to be ready whenever it comes.
On Dec. 5, the “Future China Forum,” a group dedicated to bringing about a peaceful transition to democracy, announced that it will be laying the groundwork for a transitional Chinese government in order to expedite the collapse of communist rule in the world’s most populous country.
“Before the Chinese Communist Party’s 17th National People’s Congress, some people still had some hope that the Party might launch a reform on its political system … but the [Communist Party] has rejected any possibility of political reform,” read a statement from the organization.
“The Chinese Communist Party continues to …control the media and the Internet and severely restrict freedom of speech. Civil rights activists and dissidents in China, underground church members and Falun Gong adherents are facing cruel suppression and persecution. Meanwhile, the Party’s corrupted officials are confiscating and looting the Chinese people’s land and properties,” it continued.
In the statement, organizers invited “Chinese elites” from all walks of life to participate in building a transitional government. Among its current advisors are former high-ranking members of the Chinese government and military—including Jia Jia, a high-profile defector from the Shanxi provincial government—and members of the Chinese democracy movement and other dissident groups. While most are living in exile in North America, Europe, Australia, and other regions of Asia, some remain in the mainland.
The Future China Forum claims to have received correspondence from many disenfranchised Chinese people, as well as members of China’s military who have reportedly expressed a desire to stage a coup d'état against the ruling communists.
Dissent among the ranks of the Chinese military has been on the rise recently. In September, the Associated Press reported thousands-strong protests being staged by demobilized soldiers in several Chinese cities. In July, according to Hong Kong media reports, Chinese president Hu Jintao expressed serious concern to 80 of China’s top military commanders about lagging devotion in the army to the Communist Party’s authority.
“A lot of China’s military personnel have urged us to establish an interim Chinese government as soon as possible,” said the Future China Forum. “They’ve asked the interim Chinese government to authorize them to take actions at the opportune moment to overthrow the Party’s tyrannous rule.”
The Forum organizers have responded by initiating a worldwide recruitment campaign to find qualified participants for an interim government, soliciting feedback from the Chinese community, and has begun logistical planning for a new government, right down to inviting suggestions for a new Chinese flag.
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