http://www.worldpoliticsreview.com/a...iananmen-alive

Amid Crackdown, China’s Dissidents Fight to Keep the Spirit of Tiananmen Alive

In
the years following the bloodshed in 1989, during which hundreds or even thousands died, a number of surviving political activists struggled to carry on the legacy of nonviolent resistance. Their endeavors were met with merciless government suppression, and a spate of arrests ensued.
In the spring of 2008, dissidents including the prominent writer Liu Xiaobo drafted Charter 08, a petition calling for human rights, democracy and the end of one-party rule in China, which was initially signed by a coalition of 303 Chinese citizens and posted online in December 2008. The idea of Charter 08, free for anyone to sign, was that its signatories would form a loose group with the common cause of promoting human rights and democracy in China.
The article describes how this movement was rapidly suppressed. It further illustrates that non-violent resistance has little chance of success when the state maintains control of its security forces and is willing to use oppressive measures against its own people. The West remains relatively silent because of their economic interests.

The collective suffering of China’s dissidents, known only to a tiny population of the country, is enormous, while the concrete results of their sacrifices are difficult to see.
All these recent developments bode ill for the future of political opposition in China. As prominent dissident Mo Zhixu wrote, “Grassroots resistance is entering the toughest period. How to cope with the increasingly frozen ‘ice age’ will be a test to all activists.”
One can continue to hope the Chinese people will rise up and compel change, but I tend to think that is a long shot, not one we should bet on.