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Stories tagged with: CCP (153)

• Blogger: To Whom Should I Be Grateful?

  

  Wandering through the Chinese blogosphere, one never knows who you will encounter. Here is a blog titled “Love of Nature,” which contains social commentary mixed with personal memories. Its author did not reveal gender, name, age or other personal identity, but it is clear from this post that the author is near 60 years old. The following post reveals candid inner thoughts that could not be published in the official press. Translated by CDT’s Lunjun Fan:

  Gradually, my generation of Chinese is only left with a past. We don’t feel we belong to the present era of the country, nor the future one. I often think that a person should at least have a good understanding of his own life. His life is more meaningful if he could also has a good grasp of the times he has lived through. Many of our parents’ generation have passed away, leaving behind too much bewilderment to us, and to our offspring. Perhaps this kind of situation has always existed in the past several thousand years of Chinese history. But it has been more widespread in recent decades.

  People tend to recall their past when they reach a certain age. Recalling one’s past has no larger meaning if it’s just a way to pass the time. Because of my chaotic and confusing past, I don’t like dwelling in memories. Instead, I prefer to reflect on them and to assess them from a fresh perspective. This might be a trait that’s shared by many in my generation who were born before 1949 (when the CCP established a new government). In the current degenerate and sensuous society of China, which is also in the beginning of an enlightenment era, people tend to have critical thoughts, consciously or unconsciously. Some speak out. Others hold their thoughts silently in their minds, because of various restraints.

  Like most people, I am an ordinary human being. I have neither foresight nor exceptional courage. I fervently followed Mao and believed in him. I didn’t get the chance to play a prominent role in the political movements due to my unfavorable family background. Thus I didn’t do anything evil that I am ashamed of now. However, my ideas and way of thinking, which were shaped by years of indoctrination in Mao’s times, are typical of that era.

  My reflection (on Mao’s times) started a couple of years before the fall of the “Gang of Four.” My thoughts were limited to literature and the arts at first. Later I expanded my reflection to a wider range of issues, with the general liberation of ideology in the society. But I did not cast my doubt on the Party and the State, or the communist revolution. I was still grateful that I lived under the “red flag.”

  I was accepted by the CCP as a member in the mid 80s, despite the fact that I no longer believed in any -ism. I joined the party just to get better career opportunities. However, a group of young scholars endeavored to reflect China’s history and culture in a new light during that time, and their works such as Prosperity and Crisis, and River Elegy, had a significant impact on me.

  My ideas took a sudden turn during the June 4th Incident. I stood on the side of the protesting students wholeheartedly. But I was worried that there was no independent political force to support their effort. I reminded my colleagues to be aware of the reality and take precautions against unexpected incidents. The third day after I talked to them, tanks rolled onto the streets and students were arrested. Fortunately several of those who listened to me survived the ordeal.

  The situation completely changed in the 90s. Internationally, the confrontation between the two camps in the Cold War ended (as the Soviet Union collapsed). Domestically, corruption went out of control. During this period, I kept going upward in my career and made some remarkable achievements, as far as satisfying personal desires is concerned. However, I also witnessed from within the decay of the old system and experienced it intimately, which propelled me to reflect on it in a profound way.

  In the new century I was so disgusted by officialdom that I gave up all promotion opportunities. I turned to pursue my real interests, spending most my time and energy in reading and thinking.

  Like many others, I realized that China has lagged behind the West in technological, economic and social development since the arrival of modern times. But I found out that the root of China’s backwardness went beyond the recent Ming and Qing Dynasties when I searched for the causes of it from philosophical and cultural perspectives. This understanding enlightened me significantly. But I was mainly interested in academic thinking, driven by the desire for knowledge. I didn’t reflect on political doctrines or systems, nor was I aware of the ideological system of democracy and freedom. I had not learned how to surf on the Internet. Recently when I reviewed what I wrote during that period, I saw obvious limitations on my thinking.

  My political views changed completely a couple of years ago when I turned my reflections on history to the realities of contemporary Chinese society. I am able to expand my knowledge across national boundaries thanks to the Internet. I often ask myself the question: Who has helped me to become a self-reliant, independent-thinking and knowledgeable person over the course of my life? To whom should I be thankful?

  To tell you the truth, I was grateful to the Party not too long ago. But I gradually realized that the common people would always seek to make a living and try to educate themselves, no matter which era they live in. These are their basic human rights. What has the Party done for the people? Does it deserve our respect? It promised democracy and freedom when it first mobilized countless people to rebel, calling on them to sacrifice their lives and property to establish a new government. However, it monopolized power after obtaining it, and designated itself as the representative and the savior of all people.

  It did whatever it wanted, censoring different opinions, causing famines, persecuting innocent citizens, and destroying opposing parties. It resorted to “Reform and Opening-up” when the state was about to collapse. And then the offspring of party leaders became millionaires or high-ranking officials. Why should I be thankful to such a Party, one that maintains its rule by force and dictatorship? There’s no reason.

  Looking back on the past several decades, they could have built the country into a democratic, fair and diverse society. But they didn’t. It’s not because they are ignorant, but because they don’t have the virtue or merits to do so.

  To whom should I be thankful? —-Perhaps my parents who struggled long and hard to bring me up, the ordinary people who contributed to my well-being, and the universal civilization that taught me the meaning of humanity.

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  • October 27, 2008 9:50 PM

• Successor Who Held True to Mao

  

  Hua Guofeng, who succeeded Mao as leader of China in 1976 and was later replaced by Deng Xiaoping, died this week at the age of 87. Mure Dickie reports in the Financial Times:

  Nothing sums up better the slavish sycophancy that Mao Zedong sought in his subordinates than the slogan adopted by the late Chinese dictator’s hand-picked heir. “We firmly uphold whatever policy decisions Chairman Mao made and we unswervingly abide by whatever instructions Chairman Mao gave,” declared Hua Guofeng, who succeeded Mao as leader of China in 1976 and who died this week at the age of 87.

  The policy approach, dubbed the “Two Whatevers”, was a natural choice for Hua, who owed his place in the top ranks of the Communist party to Mao’s favour and whose legitimacy as leader relied entirely on association with the chairman. But it was to prove a strategic error that helped his enemies to topple him in a political struggle that would pave the way for China’s emergence as a modern power.

  Hua – whose original name was Su Zhu – was born on February 16 1921 to a poor family in the northern province of Shanxi. In 1938, shortly after Japan launched a full-scale invasion of China, he joined resistance forces in his local area and became a member of the Communist party. His choice of nom de guerre symbolised his patriotic intentions: “Hua Guofeng” was taken from three characters from the phrase “Vanguard of Chinese people resisting the Japanese and saving the nation”.

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  • August 22, 2008 10:28 PM

• Controlling Inflation Remains Top Priority

  

  From China Daily:

  Party leaders on Friday named curbing inflation as the nation’s economic priority for the remainder of this year, while also ensuring steady growth with macro-control measures.

  The meeting of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, presided over by Party General Secretary Hu Jintao, said China will strive to maintain stable and fast economic growth and carry on its battle against inflation.

  The meeting also decided to convene the Third Plenary Session of the 17th CPC Central Committee in October in Beijing.

  The meeting came after senior leaders completed inspection tours of export powerhouses in the nation’s coastal provinces earlier this month.

  Read also Maintaining steady, fast economic development still China’s top agenda for second half by Xinhua.

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  • July 26, 2008 5:13 AM

• Official Selection Contests Aired To Public In SW China City

  

  From Xinhua:

  Ma Ningyu stood on the podium and spoke with confidence on his ideas about how to better serve the public in his district. He is speaking off the cuff to convince a panel of judges about his political ideas in a few minutes.

  When challenged with a question his eight-year work experience would not be enough, he says, “Youth is a kind of fortune. Young men are more ready to face up to the situation and seek renovations.”

  Ma is deputy head of Xiaohe District in Guiyang, capital of southwestern China’s Guizhou Province. He aims to compete for the district Party secretary’s post.

  He is one of the 81 competitors running for the Party secretaries of four counties and districts in Guiyang.

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  • July 23, 2008 7:41 AM

• Willy Lam: The CCP Strengthens Control over the Judiciary

  

  From China Brief, via Global Terrorism Analysis:

  Chinese President Hu Jintao’s administration has boosted the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) control over the judiciary, a move designed to enhance Beijing’s ability to maintain stability and to crack down on dissent. More powers have been given to the party’s Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission (CPLAC), which has control over the police, the prosecutor’s offices and the courts. Hu, also party general secretary, has given new orders that zhengfa (“political and legal”) departments—which handle law enforcement and judicial matters—must observe the so-called “three top priorities,” meaning the latter must give “utmost priority to the party’s enterprise, the people’s interests, and the Constitution and the law” (Xinhua News Agency, June 23).

  That the party’s goals and concerns override everything else was made clear in a national meeting of judicial and security officials called late last month by the CPLAC, which is headed by conservative Politburo Standing Committee (PBSC) member Zhou Yongkang. A former minister of public security, Zhou told the nation’s senior judges, prosecutors, police officers and other zhengfa cadres to “perpetually uphold the political orientation of being loyal to the party, loyal to the country and the people, and loyalty to the law” (Xinhua News Agency, June 20; China Police Daily [Beijing], June 21). Speaking for the nation’s 180,000 judges, the newly promoted President of the Supreme People’s Court (SPC) Wang Shengjun indicated at the same conference that “only by upholding the ‘three priorities’ from beginning to end can the work of the people’s courts go along the correct political path.” In what amounts to a drastic politicization of the judiciary, court officials were told to rally behind the leadership of the “party central authorities with comrade Hu Jintao as general secretary.” “We must unify our consciousness, thoughts and action regarding what kind of flag the courts will hoist and what kind of road they will take … in order to ensure the correct political direction of the people’s courts,” Wang added (Xinhua News Agency, June 23).

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  • July 5, 2008 1:24 PM

• A ‘Crisis Alert’ Conference of Party-Wide Significance*

  

  This is an article from Southern Weekend, thanks to David Kelly for the translation:

  The Central Conference held on June 13 proved once again that “stability” has become the main politics, that it is the basic starting point for us to grasp all current policy trends.

  This meeting is equivalent functionally to the previous year’s economic work in the wrap-up session, but compared to a year ago, it’s a little earlier. I believe that is due to the earthquake, the Olympic domestic and international economic and financial situation and the latest changes, forcing the centre to bring things forward, which means that, having introduced the “State Department regulations on reconstruction after the Wenchuan earthquake” and the successful risk abatement at theTangshanyan quake lake, the focus of the Centre’s work returned to the macro global issues.

  More importantly, this meeting is ranked higher than any session of a year ago, even higher than that of the Central Economic Work Conference. Unlike in previous years when economic work was summed up at the level of the State Council or the Politburo, this meeting was not only attended by the Central Politburo Standing Committee but in addition all central ministries and provinces, autonomous regions, leaders of some national enterprise, large military units and armed police forces all too part. An economic conference at the highest party level shows in itself that how concerned the Centre is about the new situation in the economic field, and needs to carry out party-wide mobilisation.

  The notice of the opening session stressed the significance of this meeting: “It is held in context of many new complicated factors in the international and domestic situation, and of many new challenge facing the party and the state.” The meeting considered that at present, “achieving this year’s economic and social development targets have entered a key time,” and that “this year’s economic and social development faces a most complex situation and uncertain factors have increased.”

  Expressions like “severe challenges,” “critical period” and “quite complex,” etc., show that judgment on the current situation is not optimistic, and bringing the meeting forward proves that, given the new “grim situation,” some established principles and policies require urgent adjustment.

  On this level, in addition to unifying thinking and adjusting policies, this is more a “crisis alert” meeting of party-wide significance. So, what is meant by “new complic ated factors”? In addition to the high domestic inflation, the Olympics and post-disaster reconstruction, the international “new challenges” must refer to “ultra-high oil prices” and the “Vietnamese financial crisis,” etc.; the subprime loan crisis cannot be a “new challenge.” Regarding threats to “stability,” domestic risks are still controllable, it is international risks that are non-controllable, the purpose of the meeting, is to use controllable domestic resources to fend off international non-controllable risks. The policy of assuring growth has been significantly strengthened.

  This meeting makes fundamental adjustments to the arrangements established by the 2008 Central Economic Work Conference and the State Council executive meeting for the First Quarter in the following three areas:

  The emphasis on economic growth will be strengthened, on the basis of “anti-inflation,” policy efforts to “guarantee growth” will be significantly strengthened; “double defence” may become “one defence and one guarantee.”

  In support of this point is that in the centre’s setting the tone of the current economic situation, there is no expression of the “three excesses” as in the past.[1] They have been replaced by “economic and social development is facing a very complicated situation and uncertain factors have increased.” Clearly, what the Centre is worried about is no longer overheating, but whether “factors of uncertainty” including inflation, foreign demand, will depress the economy excessively.

  This corresponds with the central macro-policies on the overall arrangements, wording about tightening like “control investment growth rate, control monetary and credit” has been cancelled, , but stressed that the policy of “predictability, targeting and flexibility.”

  Fiscal policy from “stable” to “positive”

  The second major adjustment, similar to 1998 may be an important change: We believe that financial policy will gradually shifted from “prudent” to “positive” core.

  This entire meeting never mentioned monetary policy as part of macro policy, but raised it as follows in regulation and control policy as a general principle: “increase the prudent financial policy for restructuring, protection of people’s livelihood, support for post-earthquake reconstruction, completing all the tasks of economic and social devel opment.” We would argue that whether it’s the fight against inflation, strengthening social security, or improving people’s livelihood and solving the problems they are most concerned about, the most direct and practical interests, the Central will lean more on financial strength to pay for stability with proactive fiscal policy.

  Unlike in1998, when special treasury bonds were dedicated to infrastructure building, the content of proactive fiscal policy this year, will be more reflected in the form of subsidies to bear the social costs of inflation, including high oil prices and subsidies, agricultural subsidies, social security, industrial restructuring, and secondary income distribution. It is worth noting that this meeting never mentioned monetary policy. There are two possible explanations, first, neither appreciation nor monetary tightening, are effective in controlling inflation, monetary policy has been excluded from the core policy; secondly, the Centre has reached no unified conclusion on whether to continue “tightening” monetary policy, so it has avoided the issue. We believe that the former is the more likely, although this does not mean that monetary policy will not continue tightening.

  Anti-inflation: comprehensive price control in the short-term

  The third major adjustment that we need to focus on the interpretation, the Centre’s unprecedented attention to the inflation issue, and possible means to be adopted.

  During the meeting, “anti-inflation” was raised as the primary task of follow-up work; in overall terms, “anti-inflation” is the core content of “ensuring overall social stability” in the economic dimension, especially in view of the current chaotic situation in Vietnam, the direct factor is high inflation triggering outflows of foreign capital, and then threatening financial security, and forcing the Government to lower economic growth; while in terms of the root cause, the source is still in grain prices and oil prices. The Central Conference discussed inflation, was also focus “major commodity” prices typified by agricultural products.

  Although the content of the meeting made no straightforward, “the prices”, but stressed that the “comprehensive use of economic, legal and necessary administrative means.”

  Well, how wide can “administrative prices” be?

  It can be affirmed that the scope of controlled price commodities will take in enterprises producing “basic life necessities.”

  Two aspects are difficult to answer: first, after price limitations on “basic life necessities,” who is going to produce the expanded supplies? Second, administrative price controls distort the entire market system, should not the long-distorted refined oil and natural gas prices be increased?

  We note that while the Central meeting is “doing everything possible to prevent general price levels rising too fast,” it once again stressed the importance of agriculture and investment. The meeting called for “strengthening production of grains, edible vegetable oil, meat and other basic necessities and other scarce commodity, and improving the reserve system to ensure the effective supply of important products and of materials.”

  “To grasp agricultural production properly, it is necessary to implement the various policies for supporting agriculture and strengthen investment in it.” This leads to a question, the only way to limit prices on the one hand while expanding supply on the other is to intensify financial subsidies for agricultural production. But the problem is that the factors involved in agricultural production are very broad; if prices of other relevant aspects are not limited, rises in costs of agriculture will be rigid. Will financial subsidies be able to sustain producers of agricultural products and maintain enough drive to produce?

  If prices in related aspects are restricted, the area under pressure will be unprecedented.

  It is said that the NDRC recently convened an internal meeting of Division and Section heads, clarifying that the focus of control in the second half of the year will shift to PPI (producer price index), and mainly take three forms: strengthening control of factory prices of industrial products; further restricting export of major industrial fuels; and strengthening oversight and control of investments in fixed assets.

  Of these, the prices of main industrial products typified by steel and coal will be further controlled, and prices of the steel, cement and other key materials used in reconstruction of disaster regions are required to revert to levels prior to May 11. In addition, the price authorities of other provinces at the same time are required to sum up local realities, based on of relevant provision the price law, to take timely temporary price intervention measures, through limiting posted prices or profit margins, etc., to maintain price stability.

  Relevant NDRC officials stated that further tariff-based restrictions on export of related products were not ruled out, exports of coal, steel, oil etc., will face further controls.

  The Government has given up rescuing the market, and is turning towards institution building

  The current stock market has entered a very sensitive period, investor sentiment after the drop shows continuing “instability”, but the mills have kept circulating hearsay and conjecture about a “rescue”.

  In our judgment, however, according to the spirit of this meeting, administrative levels are incapable of “to save the market” in the short term. The index is likely to decline further to the “share market reform core value range” of 2200-2800,

  The spirit that this Central meeting expressed regarding the stock market, from “to prevent big ups and downs” of late last year, through the “stable and healthy development” in the Government Work Report earlier this year, has now become “promote the healthy development of capital markets.”

  This meeting removed “stable,” mention of “healthy” but once. This shows that the central government has clearly give up the any policy intent of a “rescue” in the near future.

  In view of the central government’s giving up considering “rescue”, and against the backdrop of entering a “extraordinary period” in macroeconomic terms, accelerating institution building has become the sole “political task” of the Securities Regulatory Commission

  Therefore, there will be greater progress in basic institution building in the latter half of the year.

  The highlight of the next wave of reform should be the launch in late 2008 or early 2009 of trading mechanism, distribution system and more robust “sise of the non-lifting of the ban” system as the representative of the “reform of the system based on the second stage.”

  After the market “breaks 3000″—once the central government gives up “rescue,” the only way to “stabilize” it temporarily —it will continue to decline, and will return to the “value centre of the share reform period, and start fluctuating and adjusting around this centre

  Perhaps, to some extent, the bear market will be of even greater significance to China’s capital market, because it makes people understand the potential crisis more profoundly, and effectively and fundamentally begin to solve the problem, completely abandoning the fantasy of rescue (investors) and intervention (administrators).

  (The authors are Chief Commentators, Bolan Financial)
  ________________________________

  *’ Wang Xiaobing, Li Hongtu and Liu Tianzhi, “Yici quandang yiyi de ‘weiji jingshi’ dahui” [A 'crisis alert' conference affecting the party nationally], Nanfang zhoumo, 19 June 2008 [王晓兵、李宏图 、刘天智： "一次全党意义的'危机警示'大会"， 南方周末，2008年6月 19日 (http://www.nanfangdaily.com.cn/epaper/nfzm/content/20080619/ArticelC18002FM.htm).].

  [1] [Translator] Excessive growth of investment, excessive money supply, excessive foreign trade surplus. See Wang Biqiang, “Renda wenze zhengfu diaokong ’san guo’” [National People's Congress wants government accountable for curbing the 'three excesses'], Jingji guancha wang, 3 September 2007 [王毕强： "人大问责政府调控'三过'"， 经济观察网，2007年9月 3日 (http://www.eeo.com.cn/Politics/beijing_news/2007/09/03/82253.html).].

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  • June 23, 2008 3:16 PM

• Hu Deping: Hu Yaobang and the Test of Truth

  

  Written by Hu Deping, the eldest son of former Communist Party general secretary Hu Yaobang, from Caijing Magazine:

  Thirty years have passed since the publication of an article in Guanming Daily entitled“Practice Is the Sole Criterion for Testing Truth.” The essay, which held that the integration of theory with practice was a fundamental part of Marxism, touched off a fierce national debate. It was part of a great movement to free the minds of Chinese people from the strictures of the Cultural Revolution and to lay a solid ideological foundation for the reforms that would follow.

  The article appeared under the name of Hu Fuming, a scholar at Nanjing University, though in fact it had many fathers. Among them was Hu Yaobang, a senior party official who had himself been persecuted during the Cultural Revolution. Hu realized that China had suffered enormous setbacks during that tumultuous period. “How can a nation comprised of people shackled and oppressed mentally as well as organizationally compete with developed countries of the world?” he asked.

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  • June 21, 2008 6:15 AM

• John Lee: Why China Doesn’t Break

  

  A scholar from Australia’s Centre for Independent Studies takes a good stab at explaining the Chinese government’s staying power in the Guardian’s Comment is Free:

  Around 320,000 Britons visited China in 2007. One of the world’s great cultures has finally embarked on a path towards prosperity. China is a much more comfortable and welcoming place than it has ever been. Last year, Tony Blair told us that because of economic changes and rising prosperity, the movement towards democracy in China is “unstoppable.”

  Everything from economic reforms to rising wealth levels, a growing and modern middle class (currently around 100-200 million people) behaving and acting like we do in Britain, and even granting Beijing the Olympics was meant to hasten the arrival of democracy in China. But since the Tiananmen Square protests in 1989, China is seemingly further away (pdf) from democracy.

  What happened? After all, the circumstances seem ripe for democratisation.

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  • June 1, 2008 10:38 PM

• China Orders ‘Study Sessions’ in Tibet

  

  From AP:

  China’s ruling Communist Party is ordering officials in Tibetan areas into political study sessions, a report said Friday, the firmest sign yet that China is using loyalty tests in areas where recent anti-government protests erupted.

  The recently issued order emphasizes the need for officials to oppose Tibetan separatism, highlighting that Beijing was caught off-guard by last month’s protests, the most widespread demonstrations against Chinese rule in nearly 50 years.

  “The numerous party members and grass-roots officials must further launch education in opposing separatism and preserving the unity of the motherland,” the state-run Xinhua News Agency said, citing a notice from the party’s powerful Organization Department, which oversees personnel issues.

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  • April 4, 2008 5:29 AM

• Pre-Parliamentary Round-Up: Security High, and a Hurdler Missing

  

  The opening of the annual session of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC or Chinese parliament, for short) typically signals the start of speculation season for foreign media in Beijing. The first day of the session is nearly over now and already the political prognostications have started popping up all over the Internet. The top story so far, however, is a bit of hard news about Chinese megastar athlete Liu Xiang (刘翔), world record holder in the 110m hurdles, who has raised hackles by turning down delegate status in order to (gasp!) attend a track meet in Spain, from AFP:

  “Liu Xiang is one of the outstanding delegates from the sports world, he was made a delegate to the political conference after consultations and everyone supported this decision,” conference spokesman Wu Jianmin told the paper.

  “When the sports world has a delegate like him, it should not only be a responsibility, but also an honour.”

  Liu’s handlers however said that he must run in Valencia and other upcoming European indoor track meets to maintain his training push toward the August Beijing Olympics, where he is one of China’s top medal hopes.

  Both AFP and Reuters report tens of thousands of paramilitary police and other enforcers of social harmony had been posted around the city in advance of the meeting in what AFP described as “a dress rehearsal for the Olympic Games” complete with warnings to typical troublemakers to keep their mouths shut. For vox pop, the Reuters security story quotes a local merchant with the same name as the missing hurdler:

  Grocer Liu Xiang, 33, like many Chinese, can only guess at what the fuss is all about. “I suppose there’s some meeting between the leaders,” Liu said, weighing a bag of mandarins at a market a few blocks east of the square. “Who knows what they talk about? How would I know? I’m just a common person.”

  As for possible outcomes, Bloomberg cites CPPCC spokesman Wu Jianming as saying the party may try to appoint more non-communist ministers, while AP reports the possibility of major (but unspecified) changes to the family planning policy. Finally, while noting the heightened security environment, Reuters’ Chris Buckley finds reason to be optimistic about the possibility of political reform:

  China’s leaders have shown no appetite for radical change that would challenge one-party rule, and with Beijing preparing for its showcase Olympic Games in August, they will be especially wary of unrest, likely locking away or isolating many dissidents.

  But the Party Central Committee said after a meeting last week that some political reform was needed to cure misgovernance and social strains. And the national parliament is set to unify dozens of government ministries into several “super-ministries” and to promise parliament delegates a stronger say in policy.

  Democracy advocates said they hope the international spotlight on the Games, and then the December anniversary of the 1978 meeting celebrated as launching Deng Xiaoping’s market reforms, will open room for even bolder demands.

  “These voices (for political change) have never entirely stopped, but since early this year they have grown markedly stronger. They’ve been waiting for an opening,” said Liu Suli, owner of the All Sages bookstore in Beijing.

  Part of the reason for all the hype: This year’s CPPCC gathering marks the 30th anniversary of the “Reform and Opening” (改革开放) policy.

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  • March 3, 2008 2:54 AM

• Anti-graft Comic Book For Chinese Cadres - AFP

  

  From AFP:

  China’s ruling Communist Party will release an anti-graft comic book during the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday to help officials avoid corruption, state press said Tuesday.

  The pocket-size comic book, which includes caricatures depicting common forms of graft and bribery, will be distributed as a gift to 100,000 party members in the central province of Henan, Xinhua news agency said.

  The books also contain “anti-corruption policies, maxims and aphorisms about clean government,” it added. [Full Text]

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  • January 9, 2008 3:44 AM

• China Shuffles Leaders of Booming Provinces - AFP

  

  From AFP:

  China has named new bosses of the booming regions of Guangdong and Chongqing, state media reported, as political reshuffling continues following a key Communist Party congress in October.

  Wang Yang was named party secretary of southern Guangdong province, the economic powerhouse and centre of China’s thriving manufacturing industry, Xinhua news agency reported late Saturday. [Full text]

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  • December 2, 2007 4:39 PM

• The China Model - Rowan Callick

  

  In a magazine called The American, Rowan Callick, China correspondent for The Australian, explains the “China Model,” which combines economic and social liberalization with political repression:

  The system’s advantage over the standard authoritarian or totalitarian approach is obvious: it produces economic growth, which keeps people happy. Under communism and its variations on the right and left, highly centralized state-run economies have performed poorly. The China Model introduces, at least in significant part, the proven success of free-market economics. As citizens get richer, the expectation is that a nondemocratic regime can retain and even enhance its power and authority. There is no doubt that the model has worked in China and may work as well elsewhere, but can it be sustained over the long run? [Full text]

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  • November 21, 2007 8:56 PM

• State Council White Paper Emphasizes Importance of Political Consultation Under Party Control - Carl Minzner

  

  From The Chinese Law and Politics Blog:

  The Information Office of the State Council issued a white paper on the Chinese political party system on November 15, according to a Xinhua article issued on the same date (English, Chinese).

  The white paper emphasizes the dominant role of the Communist Party in the Chinese political system, while stressing the importance of political consultation between Party and non-Party members closely allied with Party goals, including members from China’s eight minor “democratic” parties. [Full Text]

  Carl Minzner is Associate Professor of Law, Washington University School of Law in St. Louis.

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  • November 16, 2007 2:51 PM

• Letter from China: What if Beijing is Right? - Howard W. French

  

  In the International Herald Tribune, Howard French asks a series of “What Ifs” about China as a model for the rest of the world:

  What if popular consent in the form of real democratic participation by the citizenry had no bearing on a state’s ability to conducts its affairs with success? In myriad ways in today’s China, the government all but commands people to keep their minds off of politics, and consultation with the people is all but nonexistent…

  What if personality were rendered irrelevant to the public practice of politics? Since China’s leaders are not chosen in any meaningful way by the people, there is almost no pandering to the base of the kind that often seems to keep American politics welded at election time to issues that arguably have little to do with the nation’s real destiny.

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  • November 4, 2007 1:32 PM