Chinese author of 'Democracy is a Good Thing' resigns from Communist Party bureau
Liberal thinker, whose works fuelled speculation of political reform, is to pursue life in academia
A prominent liberal who has written extensively about democracy and political reform has resigned from a Communist Party bureau, citing an interest in academics.
Yu rose to prominence when his book Democracy is a Good Thing was published in 2006. In it he discussed issues ranging from Western democracy to civil society, subjects rarely touched by Chinese officials.
In a commentary that year in the Beijing Daily, Yu wrote extensively on the advantages of democracy, arguing it provided equal opportunities for all and was a basic value of humanity.
In an echo of Winston Churchill's quote that "democracy is the worst form of government, except for all the others", Yu wrote: "Among all the political systems invented and implemented by the human race, democracy is the one with the least defects. In other words, democracy is by far the best political system of the human race."
He wrote that he was not calling for a replica of Western democracy, but for a type of democracy that matched China's reality.
His high-profile discussion about democracy - and his position at the Central Compilation and Translation Bureau, which is under the party's central committee - fuelled speculation the party was to embark on significant political reform.