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Hu woos with people power
By Willy Lam, CNN Senior China Analyst
(CNN) -- It's quite a distance from the ideal of "government of the people, by the people, for the people." And it seems far-fetched to think Chinese Communist Party (CCP) General Secretary Hu Jintao is paying homage to pioneer revolutionary Dr Sun Yat-sen's "Three Principles of the People" ("nationalism, people's power, people's livelihood.") Yet Hu impressed observers with his fervent salute to the "people-come-first" precept while addressing an ideological study session for the party Central Committee earlier this month. "Power must be used for the sake of the people," said the 60-year-old Hu. "[Cadres'] sentiments must be tied to those of the people; and material benefits must be sought in the interest of the people." There are many reasons why Hu seems to have been wearing populism on his sleeve the past few months. Almost immediately upon becoming party chief last November, Hu laid down a number of catchy slogans such as the so-called "Three Do-wells Principle" -- that cadres must "do a good job in safeguarding, materializing and developing the fundamental interests of the masses." The head of the CCP's Communist Youth League Faction is convinced that his "close-to-the-masses" dictums are more in tune with the times than the elitism implicit in President Jiang Zemin's "Theory of the Three Represents." By arguing that the CCP must represent "the most advanced productivity and culture," Jiang's motto has laid the theoretical basis for the enoblement of the "new classes" of private businessmen and professionals. And while Hu still cites the Three Represents theory in public speeches, the Jiang shibboleth has to all intents and purposes been displaced by Hu's populist sayings. The main reason behind Hu's apparent resuscitation of the Maoist concept of "being in unison with the masses" is revealed by an unusually frank commentary in the CCP journal "Seeking Truth" last week. The piece, entitled "The CCP must consolidate its status as ruling party through finding the law of [successful] administration", is believed to be close to the thinking of Hu and allies such as premier-designate Wen Jiabao. After analyzing the failure of Communist parties in the former Soviet bloc and other parts of the world, the article said the CCP must focus on economic development and improving the people's standard of living. No less important, the party must remain faithful to its proletarian roots. Glaring anomalies
In theory, of course, China -- which last year surpassed Italy as the world's sixth largest economy -- seems to be doing extremely well on the front of economic development. The country's growth rate of 8 percent is the envy of the world. Last year, its exports jumped by 23 percent to $320 billion, and it absorbed a record $52 billion in foreign investment. But there are two glaring anomalies. One is that Beijing has, for the past five years, depended on deficit financing to fund the growth, meaning the country's aggregate public debts -- estimated at more than 120 percent of GDP -- have reached dangerous levels. The second, and more serious problem, is rising popular dissatisfaction with the widening gap between the haves and haves-not, which is aggravated by endemic corruption. Indeed, a key test of Hu-style populism is whether he can get rid of graft, deemed to be the No. 1 scourge by 1.3 billion Chinese. And it is here that Hu may clash directly with President Jiang and the Shanghai Faction. In the run-up to the upcoming National People's Congress (NPC), Hu has kicked off an anti-corruption campaign in an apparent attempt to demonstrate his commitment to boosting the masses' welfare. Last week, the party's top anti-graft watchdog, the Central Commission for Disciplinary Inspection (CCDI), issued five regulations barring officials from using their power to engage in commerce. For example, cadres -- and their relatives -- are forbidden to buy stocks in or have business dealings with enterprises directly or indirectly under their control. A party source familiar with the Hu camp believes the CCP supremo -- together with new CCDI Chief Wu Guanzheng, who is deemed to be close to Hu -- may wield the "anti-graft card" to beef up his national stature and bludgeon political enemies. ProsecutionsTake, for example, the infamous, multi-billion yuan smuggling and graft scandal that centered on the port city of Xiamen, Fujian Province. There are persistent suggestions that a number of senior cadres and "princelings" -- offspring of party elders -- implicated in the Xiamen case have been spared prosecution because of their affiliation with the Shanghai Faction. And a couple or so of such tainted cadres are due for big promotions at the NPC. In the past five years, more than 12,000 cadres with the rank of county chief or above -- including 25 ministerial-ranked officials -- were prosecuted for taking bribes and related crimes. "Jiang has used fighting graft as a pretext to elbow aside foes ranging from [former Beijing party boss] Chen Xitong to [former Politburo member] Li Ruihuan," the party source said. "It's quite possible Hu may take a leaf from Jiang's book in trying to get rid of rivals, including those who have enjoyed the out-going president's patronage."
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