This paper describes and analyzes the debate on human rights and Asian values. It is primarily concerned with the positions of some authoritarian governments in Asia and scholars sympathetic to Asian values. The former, it is argued, had been motivated largely by their desire to maintain power while the latter easily succumbed to nostalgia or apology. As a result, the authoritarian governments tend to have little to say on Asian values; they were much exercised by resentment and criticism of the West. In contrast, the scholars are inclined to expand the scope of their discourse, dealing with God, religion, spirituality as well as national identity; in a word, saying too much. In conclusion, this writer proposes a different approach to the debate: take seriously Chinese and Asian liberalism, examine its strengths and weaknesses and pay heed to its future development.