Democracy in China and the Party Congress
Danwei (a blog about "Chinese media, advertising, and urban life") pointed me to an article by Jonathan Ansfield on China Digital Times, "The Party Congress Peg," which catalogs ways that media in China are discussing political ideas as coverage of the upcoming 17th Communist Party Congress.Danwei writer Joel Martinsen, reminded us of the limitations of this reporting and "debate," "The CN feature looks at the various expressions of democracy in common people's lives - propery rights, low-level elections - but a good deal of the discussion is rather insubstantial. As the 17th Party Congress approaches, the effects of this discussion may be more symbolic than real."
Nonetheless, this article (and another from from The Washington Post) might be of value in getting students to consider the interface between economic and political reforms in China.
From China Digital Times:"In a cover package last week tagged '2007: Democracy's new Meaning', China Newsweek magazine has recapped the touchstones of the current debate, from Hu-Wen think-tanker Yu Keping’s treatise 'Democracy is a Good Thing' to Hu Jintao’s keynote speech at the Central Party School in late June...
"...the magazine sits down with... retired Renmin University vice president Xie Tao... [who] professed that only 'democratic socialism' in the style of the welfare states of northern Europe could 'save China'. In May... the People’s Daily ran a long-awaited rebuttal, countering that only 'socialist democracy with Chinese characteristics' – the long-established model - would do the trick. Hu followed up on that in June with his new doctrine of the Four Steadfasts, in part an effort to circumscribe the mounting debate and put fresh ideological spin on the Party's reform agenda ahead of the congress..."
Last May, The Washington Post ran this article about the meaning of democracy in China. (How did I miss this one?)
China's Reform Debate Surfaces in 2 Essays
"China dropped another hint of internal debate over political reform Friday, publishing commentaries saying the country should shun European-style democratic socialism.
"The brief articles, by a pair of established Beijing academics, ran side-by-side in People's Daily, the official Communist Party newspaper. Both argued that China could borrow useful policies from democratic countries but should remain faithful to the 'socialism with Chinese characteristics' that has been official doctrine here since the 1980s...
"By contesting the idea that democracy would be good for China, the commentaries suggested that some party members are pushing for political reforms to match the dramatic economic loosening that has taken place over the last 25 years...
"But occasionally there is no mistaking the debate. Early this year, a pair of essays in party-sanctioned intellectual publications -- one by Xie Tao, a former Renmin University vice president, and another by Zhou Ruijun, a former People's Daily editor -- openly called for democratic reforms as the best way forward for China. Xie specifically referred to Northern Europe's democratic socialist systems as a source of inspiration.
"Both essays had particular weight because they were published in party-establishment journals and authored by respected former officials with long-standing party credentials. They were daring because both suggested that part of China's current problems stem from the Communist Party's refusal to relinquish its monopoly on power..."
Labels: China, democratization, economics, politics
posted by Ken Wedding @ 7:55 AM
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