Friday, March 16, 2012

"I Feel Truly Sorry"

Public musing from the Great Hall of the People in Beijing appears of a soul-searching introspection geared to making political scientists and China watchers of all stripes and backgrounds sit up and take notice. An immense transformation has already taken place in China, that gargantuan, powerhouse of world trade and furtive global industrial and political spy networking.

When, in the wisdom of the aftershock of the Cultural Revolution and its horrendous society-breaking, culture-shocking abuses resulting in the deaths of millions of Chinese - the rejection of heritage and the stifling of the intellectuals and professionals, humbling them by sending them to workfarms to experience the industry of the people and break their resolve to confront Mao's destructiveness - the ruling Communists decided to open the country to a truncated type of capitalism, the die was cast.

Once Hong Kong was back in Chinese hands, the intention of the Chinese Communist Party Politburo was to protect that valuable jewel of industry and wealth. And to initiate and facilitate and then accelerate similar economic growth patterns through individual financial inducements throughout the rest of China. In so doing motivating people to become entrepreneurs, who would be allowed to amass their own personal fortunes.

Lifting more Chinese out of obscure poverty, and greatly enhancing the prospects for the entire country. Modest wages and great potential in huge, cheap factory outputs along with opening trade opportunities to swamp the world marketplace with Chinese-produced goods has given the country the entree it required to become a great power.

The country's premier, Wen Jiabao, candidly expressed his well-considered opinion during a press conference following the National People's Congress that China must change the "leadership structure" of the Communist Party or face the prospect of stagnation and chaos producing a catastrophe that could rival the Cultural Revolution.

Reforms are required, urgently, to ensure that the great gains that China has embarked upon over the past thirty years are not lost. With the freeing up of personal initiative, property ownership, and unfettered opportunities to produce and trade the population has seen great strides, but at a social cost, one that effectively separated people into the wealthy and the unfavoured.

Corruption within government agencies, deeply engrained in society, added to a distrust of government have created an aura of potential destabilization. Exemplified by the story reported in the international press of the southern Chinese village of Wukan where a revolt by the villagers against their corrupt, abusive local Communist Party and their democratically elected installation of a village council gained worldwide attention.

"If a people can run a village well, I like to think that they could run a town, and if they can run a town, they can manage a country. We should follow such a road, to encourage people's bold practise and allow them to receive training", Mr. Wen mused. Incremental "step by step" changes must be embarked upon to solve the country's problems with "more economic and political structural reform".

"[Otherwise] mistakes like the Cultural Revolution may happen again. Any government official or party member with a sense of responsibility should recognize this." And it appears that Bo Xalai, held to be a shoe-in for promotion to the Politburo Standing Committee, did not heed that warning. He has now been ignominiously removed from contention.
"Mr. Bo has launched Mao-style campaigns: the attacks on the gangs in Chongqing and the singing of revolutionary songs. This kind of populism was very dangerous to the party, especially when it succeeded in winning the hearts of many people. The party is worried that Mr. Bo could be another cult figure like Mao." Zhang Ming, professor of politics, Renmin University. "Besides, the Central Committee had given him a lot of chances and he had failed to cooperate with them in the past."
The war between factions of the Communist Party held to have been the cause of Chairman Mao's ascendancy and the imposition on the Chinese population of the impossibly cruel and horror-riven Cultural Revolution with its misery and oppression and brutality resulting in millions of Chinese being persecuted appears now to be emerging on a somewhat more modest scale, in a tug of political war.

For the sake of China and the good of the world community, it will be hoped that Mr. Wen's cautionary words to the incoming Politburo members will act as due warning. Mr. Wen himself appears to have been incapable of making the forward strides he is now urging on his successors, for which he announced, "I feel truly sorry".

Labels: , , , , ,

posted by Pieface @ Friday, March 16, 2012

Follow @rheytah Tweet