In China, Cameron calls for political reform

 While Cameron has chosen not to “lecture and hector” China over the issue of human rights during his visit to the Asian giant, he did make a strong advocation for greater political opening.

Speaking to students of the Peking University here, Cameron said: “The rise in economic freedom in China in recent years has been hugely beneficial to China and to the world.”
“I hope that in time this will lead to a greater political opening... because I am convinced that the best guarantor of prosperity and stability is for economic and political progress to go in step together,” he said.

Better governance, he said, is promoted by institutions like the parliament where opposition parties force leaders to listen to criticism, BBC reported.

Judiciary’s role

He said the existence of a judiciary is able to strike down unlawful official actions and “make our government better and our country stronger” and a free media ensures that those who hold different views from the government are able to take part in public debate.

“We believe that the better informed the British public is about the issues affecting our society... the easier it is, ultimately, for the British government to come to sensible decisions and to develop robust policies that command the confidence of our people,” he said alluding to the British system.

At the same time he cautiously said that his observations do not stem from any sense of “moral superiority”.

“Our own society is not perfect. There is still injustice which we must work hard to tackle. We are far from immune from poverty and the ills that afflict every nation on earth,” he said.