August 23, 2010
Premier Wen calls for major political reform
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao called for implementation of political reform measures during a weekend study tour in Shenzhen, the nation's first special economic zone (SEZ).
Wen's remarks about political reform came 30 years after the late Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping first raised the issue during an important speech on August 18, 1980, which was regarded as "the programmatic document for China's political restructuring."
"Without the political reform, China may lose what it has already achieved through economic restructuring and the targets of its modernization drive might not be reached," Wen said, pledging to address the problem of over-concentration of power and ineffective supervision.
After three decades of reform and opening-up, China is expected to overtake Japan to become the world's second largest economy this year, but the country is facing mounting pressure during its social transition including frequent attacks on vulnerable groups, aggravating pollution, serious corruption, inequality of distribution and a widening income gap.
Mounting social unrests in recent years have proved costly. In 2009, the government earmarked 514 billion yuan ($76 billion) to maintain stability, much more than the 480 billion yuan for national defense.
Zhang Liangui, a professor at the Party School of the CPC Central Committee, noted that the root cause of growing social conflict is the slow pace of political reform that seriously lags behind unprecedented economic reform.
The consequence is problematic social development along with serious bureaucracy that hinders productivity.
To prevent corruption, the authorities have adopted various new regulations in recent years such as introducing a property declaration system and monitoring of "naked officials" or those whose spouses and children moved overseas.
However, they're not enough to address the growing conflicts, which pose challenges to social stability, Zhang said.
Du Daozheng, former director of the State Press and Publication Administration, said little progress was made in the past three decades and concerns about political risks and competing interests were to blame.
Du argued that political restructuring wouldn't bring chaos to China because most Chinese support the current reform and opening-up policy and they expect a steady life and a government that is honest, transparent, efficient and which represents their views.
He suggested that political reform should begin with pilot projects in some regions and the first step should be to create an open opinion environment inside the Party and across the country.
Mao Shoulong, a professor of administrative management at Renmin University, said that we will "cross the river by touching each stone" during political reform, just like economic reform in the past 30 years, and it should be carried out under the framework of the current political system, which is dominated by the CPC.
Democracy would probably be promoted at the grassroots level, especially with the election of lower-ranking officials, Mao added.
http://china.globaltimes.cn/chinanews/2010-08/566074.html
China ~ Could Cartman be right on the money? ... links ...
March 20-23 ~ China and the World Economy ...
Premier Wen calls for major political reform
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao called for implementation of political reform measures during a weekend study tour in Shenzhen, the nation's first special economic zone (SEZ).
Wen's remarks about political reform came 30 years after the late Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping first raised the issue during an important speech on August 18, 1980, which was regarded as "the programmatic document for China's political restructuring."
"Without the political reform, China may lose what it has already achieved through economic restructuring and the targets of its modernization drive might not be reached," Wen said, pledging to address the problem of over-concentration of power and ineffective supervision.
After three decades of reform and opening-up, China is expected to overtake Japan to become the world's second largest economy this year, but the country is facing mounting pressure during its social transition including frequent attacks on vulnerable groups, aggravating pollution, serious corruption, inequality of distribution and a widening income gap.
Mounting social unrests in recent years have proved costly. In 2009, the government earmarked 514 billion yuan ($76 billion) to maintain stability, much more than the 480 billion yuan for national defense.
Zhang Liangui, a professor at the Party School of the CPC Central Committee, noted that the root cause of growing social conflict is the slow pace of political reform that seriously lags behind unprecedented economic reform.
The consequence is problematic social development along with serious bureaucracy that hinders productivity.
To prevent corruption, the authorities have adopted various new regulations in recent years such as introducing a property declaration system and monitoring of "naked officials" or those whose spouses and children moved overseas.
However, they're not enough to address the growing conflicts, which pose challenges to social stability, Zhang said.
Du Daozheng, former director of the State Press and Publication Administration, said little progress was made in the past three decades and concerns about political risks and competing interests were to blame.
Du argued that political restructuring wouldn't bring chaos to China because most Chinese support the current reform and opening-up policy and they expect a steady life and a government that is honest, transparent, efficient and which represents their views.
He suggested that political reform should begin with pilot projects in some regions and the first step should be to create an open opinion environment inside the Party and across the country.
Mao Shoulong, a professor of administrative management at Renmin University, said that we will "cross the river by touching each stone" during political reform, just like economic reform in the past 30 years, and it should be carried out under the framework of the current political system, which is dominated by the CPC.
Democracy would probably be promoted at the grassroots level, especially with the election of lower-ranking officials, Mao added.
http://china.globaltimes.cn/chinanews/2010-08/566074.html
China ~ Could Cartman be right on the money? ... links ...
March 20-23 ~ China and the World Economy ...
