Ma Jun, director of the NGO Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs, told the Global Times independent thinking is important for China's environmental activists. "Due to special conditions in our country, where the judicial system still needs to be improved. It is difficult to copy the foreign model of environmental protection."
Some challenged the selection process.
Liu Weidong, a researcher with the Institute of American Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times that the list should not be taken too seriously as "the Americans hold different opinions" because the two countries have differing culture and political systems.
Khalid Rahman, director of the Institute of Policy Studies in Pakistan, told the Global Times that it is meaningless for Western countries to sell their political inclination through the thinkers they selected.
Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar's opposition leader and parliamentarian, and president Thein Sein top the list for their efforts showing that change can happen anywhere, even in one of the world's most repressive states.
The namelist conforms to the US's global strategy, said Sumiyo Nakamura, a Japanese scholar. "All those thinkers are in line with US values."
Pretty model shines at Guangzhou Auto Show Hyundai Motor stage
Feedback
RSS
