Though officials have continued to hint at reforms, and even gingerly reached out to some dissidents last week, the escalation of the crackdown seemed to signal the government's intent to end the uprising by force.
Even the regional laggard, Syria, is hinting at reforms, such as allowing political parties to form and operate more freely, and granting citizenship to tens of thousands of Kurds who live in the country, but have remained stateless since the 1960s.
Successive governments have hinted at reform.
Mandela was soon to be released from prison and President De Klerk had hinted at reform, but the country was still segregated and the tour caused massive controversy.
The rest of the announcement is as expected given the heavy hints about reforming the tax credit system but is likely to draw intense criticism that Osborne is punishing children who cannot help being born in into large, low income families.
In a statement after the election, US Secretary of State John Kerry stressed that a "credible" transition was now needed, hinting to reform of the 2008 constitution and the ongoing human rights violations, particularly towards the Rohingya Muslim minority by extremist Buddhist factions.
But they hint at bigger reforms to follow.What should these be?
His words appeared to hint at possible reforms likely to appear in an OECD action plan, to be presented to a G20 meeting of finance ministers this month.
He has embraced the military with high profile visits, journeyed to the south in Deng Xiaoping's footsteps to hint at economic reforms, headed to impoverished villages and spread the optimistic message of the "Chinese dream".
He hinted at further reforms, and even refused to say whether he planned to run again.
