Teaching Comparative Government and Politics

Monday, October 17, 2016

Once again, there will be no independent civil society in China

If said often enough, it's likely to be important. President Xi emphasizes party control of pretty much everything in China.

P.S. the headline reflects a violation of The New York Times' editorial standards: identify people by their title and family name. The president should have been called Mr. Xi according to those standards.

Jinping Reminds China’s State Companies of Who’s the Boss

A typical big company is chock-full of bosses, from the basement mail room all the way up to the executive suite. Even at the top, those in charge sometimes have to answer to big investors pushing for change…

But this week, China’s top leader made clear to the chiefs of the country’s biggest companies that there is only one boss who matters. In an unusual meeting that ended on Tuesday, President Xi Jinping announced that the Chinese Communist Party had the ultimate say over state companies.

“Party leadership and building the role of the party are the root and soul for state-owned enterprises,” said Mr. Xi… “The party’s leadership in state-owned enterprises is a major political principle, and that principle must be insisted on.”…

Party leadership: the guys in red ties

The comments add to areas where the Communist Party has extended its dominance under Mr. Xi, including civil society and the arts. They are at odds with more market-friendly measures the Chinese government has pushed in recent years…

The attendance of Wang Qishan, Zhang Gaoli and Liu Yunshan — members of the Politburo Standing Committee, the party’s top decision-making body — underscored the importance of Mr. Xi’s comments.

Mr. Wang, the head of the party’s powerful discipline and inspection commission, has been instrumental in the far-reaching anti-corruption campaign that has brought down thousands of high-ranking leaders…

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