SHENZHEN, China—A letter signed by nearly two dozen Chinese Communist Party elders blasting the government's clampdown on free expression is drawing attention to an intensifying discussion over political reform in the approach to a major leadership conclave.
The signatories—including a former secretary to Mao Zedong— say the letter was inspired by Premier Wen Jiabao's surprise call for political reform in the southern city of Shenzhen in August, and is intended to encourage reformists in the party who want to gradually loosen its grip on society by allowing the media to report freely and by halting Internet censorship.
The letter was published online this week as the party's 371-member Central Committee prepared for a three-day meeting, starting Friday, which is expected to decide the direction of economic and political policies ahead of a leadership change in 2012.
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