'The worst mistake of the reform and opening-up is [that the Communist Party] has embarked on the capitalist path of development, but dare not tell people the truth.' Zhang Musheng, legal scholar
'Reform remains just empty talk as long as we have yet to figure out whether it should be controlled by the government or driven by market forces.' Gao Shangquan, economist and veteran government adviser
'Cult of personality, [especially Maoist idolatry] has been embedded in the political system and that's something we have yet to thoroughly re-examine.' He Fang, historian
'How come the pro-democracy forces [within the party] have always been sidelined like a housemaid while those favouring centralisation of power are always in the dominant position?' Hu Deping, son of deposed leader Hu Yaobang
'A party which had championed universal values and new democratic constitutional government went exactly the opposite direction after it took power.' Zhang Lifan, historian
'I am over 60 but there are still a lot of historical [facts about the Cultural Revolution] I don't know yet.' Li Dun, sociology professor, Tsinghua University