Letters: Li is the man to watch

A senior Chinese Communist Party official named Li Keqiang (李克強), who is on close terms with President Hu Jintao, has been elevated to the Politburo Standing Committee along with three other men.

For years, many people in Taiwan, in the West and also inside China have been trying to find a "Chinese Gorbachev," who could do for China what former president Mikhail Gorbachev did for the Soviet Union: liberate the country from the firm hands of communism and bring freedom and democracy.

It may very well be that Li will be the man to watch, and while he will not become president of China for a long time to come, if ever, Li is probably the best candidate for a Chinese Gorbachev. He is in his early 50s, is very aware of what his future role might be and he could be the one to liberate the Chinese from the Communists.

There are two ways China could become a free, democratic country. One way is for the people to rise up in a revolution, which is not likely to happen under the current regime. The other is for a man to rise within the country who, like Gorbachev, could implement change by the force of his own personality and vision. I think Li Keqiang is the man. Watch him closely.

Dan Bloom

Chiayi