In Taiwan the martial law was lifted in 1987, and the subsequent trend tended toward political liberalization. Meanwhile, in the People's Republic of China, the inculcation of democracy was found all the more difficult since the Tiananmen tragedy of June 1989.
In that condition, Western Scholars has been interested in the Chinese Intellectuals' role in political liberalization for some years. A number of historians have been working on this subject.
This article reviews the recent literature in English. In my article, my emphasis is on the next three points; (1) the true image of Chinese Intellectuals, (2) limits of Chinese Intellectuals' role in political liberalization in Republican China, (3) possiblity of Chinese Intellectuals' role in political liberalization.