Chinese Government Cancels Conference on Constitutionalism and Democracy

Chinese government authorities abruptly cancelled a planned international academic conference on constitutionalism and democracy that was to begin on May 19, according to reports by the Associated Press and South China Morning Post. Fordham University and the China University of Politics and Law jointly organized the three-day conference, entitled "Constitutionalism and Political Democratization in China - an International Conference." Some commentators speculate that the government cancelled the conference because it was scheduled too close to June 4, the anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown.