ABSTRACT
Most of the democratic activists show at least some awareness of the link between political culture and political functioning. Between 1976 and 1980, there was widespread revulsion regarding the political violence which had characterized the Cultural Revolution decade, and a growing appreciation of the price society pays when the flow of ideas and information is unduly interfered with by those in possession of political power. A political offender would enjoy relatively humane treatment and dignity, whereas the "dictatorship of the proletariat" does not want to have their opponents enjoy such "special treatment." The most notable "internal" statement was probably that of Liao Gailong, a member of the Policy Study Office of the Party Central Committee, who circulated a paper, entitled "The 1980 Reform Program of China." There is wide recognition in China that the country's politics is illiberal, undemocratic and "feudal.
