Politics
There
are three main issues, which will influence China politics in the
future. First, political instability was likely to follow the transfer
of power after 16th CPC national congress. Second, talents and
political leaning of heir-Hu Jintao. Third, the uncertainty results
from the Communist Partys plans to enlist private entrepreneurs as
party members.
Power
succession in China is widely believed to be a transfer of political
power from Jiang Zemin to his heir apparent Hu Jintao. Despite a
seemingly simple process, in reality, the transition is rather complex.
After Mao, power succession has become factional succession, meaning
that succession is not only from one individual leader to another, but
also from one faction to another. While individual leaders often face
difficulty in choosing their heir apparent, intense factional conflicts
often mean individual leaders having to sacrifice their proteges in
order to maintain a power balance between factions. This is certainly
true in the cases of Hu Yaobang and Zhao Ziyang. Both Hu and Zhao were
Deng's handpicked successors; yet, when their radical reform policies
met strong resistance from other political factions, Deng had to
sacrifice them. The semi-retirement of Chinese premier Jiang Zeming and
to his heir apparent, Hu Jintao
Mr.
Hu, was confirmed as Communist Party chief for 16th CPC
national congress in 2002. Mr. Hu, a hydraulic engineer by training,
has
thrived in the treacherous upper rungs of the Chinese Communist Party.
With China facing major foreign-policy challenges as well as massive
economic and social dislocation as it joins the World Trade
Organization (WTO), the talents and political leanings of Mr. Hu and
other members of the rising "fourth generation" of Chinese Communist
leaders will shape the country for years to come. Since taking over as
Party General Secretary at the 16th CPC, Hu and his premier, Wen
Jiabao, proposed to set up a Harmonious Society which amis at lessening
the inequality and changing the style of the GDP first and Welfare
Second policies. What emerged in recent years is what President Hu
calles the "China Model,", a systematic approach to national structure
and development that combined dynamic economic growth, a free market
energized by a vigorous private sector, unrelenting political and
medial control, personal but not political freedoms, concern for the
welfare of all citizens, cultural enlightenment, and a sysnergistic
approach to diverse social issues.
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In
16th CPC national congress, Jiang's theory of the Three Representatives
is believed to write into CPC constitution. The theory, that the party
must represent the foremost production forces, the most advanced
culture and the broad interests of the masses, aims to broaden the base
of the party by transforming it into a party of the whole people. Newly
rich entrepreneurs, despised as exploiters for much of China's
communist era, have become the new role models for the Communist Party,
which once defined itself as the political party of the proletariat.
1.5 million private firms are playing in supporting the economy and
absorbing workers laid off from ailing state companies. Analysts see
the study as an attempt by the party to stop identifying itself only
with the poor and socially deprived, and to become a representative of
the rich and powerful, or those whom Mao saw as enemies.
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