Nearly all the major institutional reforms, such as strengthening the legislature, holding village elections, and building a modern legal system, were launched in the 1980’s. Since the Tiananmen Square massacre of June 1989, however, not a single major democratic reform initiative has been implemented.
例如，八十年代中期，中国领导人认真地讨论并后来制定了温和的民主改革的蓝图。今天，政治改革的话题是禁区。几乎所有主要的机构性改革，例如加强人大、举行乡村选举以及建立现代司法制度等都是在八十年代发起的。但是，自从1989年6月天安门广场屠杀以来，没有任何一个主要的民主改革项目得到了实行。