{"id":183262,"date":"2017-10-22T15:07:27","date_gmt":"2017-10-22T09:37:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?p=183262"},"modified":"2017-10-25T00:04:59","modified_gmt":"2017-10-24T18:34:59","slug":"whither-china-after-xi-jinpings-speech-at-the-ccp-congress","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/whither-china-after-xi-jinpings-speech-at-the-ccp-congress\/","title":{"rendered":"Whither China? After Xi Jinping\u2019s Speech At The CCP Congress"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Laksiri Fernando<\/a> –<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Dr. Laksiri Fernando<\/p><\/div>\n

It is not completely an unanticipated speech by President Xi Jinping<\/a>, nevertheless revealing new directions for the party, country and foreign policy. Thus it has implications for the world at large. This time, it was a marathon speech of three and half hours showing his seriousness, determination and epoch making character. In the Chinese system of politics, the party congress is not merely about the party, but also about the country. What is decided there is decisive. This is the 19th<\/sup> congress since 1921, that means held on every five years.<\/p>\n

When the country\u2019s President, same as the General Secretary of the party, reports and announces policy, targets and reforms for the next five years, the congress goes on discussing them focusing on actions to be taken in working groups and again coming together to finalize them and to elect new leaders at various levels to implement them. The method is like the specialized workshop model in our countries. The congress goes on for a week.<\/p>\n

Around 2,300 delegates attended the congress. 265 were on the stage as the present officials or political elite. With Xi Jinping, two past presidents, Hu Jintao and Jiang Zemin, were sitting beside him among other key officials. The congress will soon elect 370 full and alternate members to the central committee. Then the congress will elect 25 politburo members by secret ballot. Thereafter the standing committee of the politburo also will be announced. Altogether, the congress is composed of representatives of the provinces, the military and government agencies. The structure is perfectly pyramidal.<\/p>\n

Background <\/strong><\/p>\n

The title of the speech was \u201cSecure a decisive victory in building a moderately prosperous society in all respects and strive for the great success of socialism with Chinese characteristics for a new era.\u201d \u2018Moderately prosperous society,\u2019 \u2018socialism with Chinese characteristics\u2019 and \u2018new era\u2019 were the three concepts that he enunciated. Those were repeated several times throughout the speech, explaining the components.<\/p>\n

Therefore, those who were predicting or speculating that China would turn completely capitalist, because of its adoption of a market economy and promotion of the private sector, may have to reassess their hopes in view of the present congress. After Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping, Xi Jinping might be the current trendsetter both in the economy and the social system.<\/p>\n

Also those who were hoping that China would mechanically adopt a Western type democracy may have to wait at least for some time to assess the trends of democratization. China might not rush to extensively open up the political system while she has been taking some efforts to loosen the party or the state grip over the citizens and ensure some civil liberties while emphasizing citizen\u2019s responsibilities and patriotism. These are obviously far short of the expectations of liberal journalists or human rights activists.<\/p>\n

When the US Congressional Research Service commissioned two experts, Kerry Dumbaugh and Michael Martin, in 2009, to submit a report on China\u2019s political system for the benefit of the members and the committees of the Congress, the following was how the summary started. The whole report was later published as \u2018Understanding China\u2019s Political System<\/em>.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cOpaque and shrouded in secrecy. China\u2019s political system and decision-making processes are mysterious to many Westerners. At one level, China is a one-party state that has been ruled by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) since 1949. But rather than being rigidly hierarchical and authoritarian, which is often the assumption, political power in China now is diffuse, complex, and at times highly competitive<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the institutional level, there is a strong state bureaucracy and the people\u2019s liberation army. Then there is the \u2018provincial and local officials; a growing body of official and quasi-official policy research groups and think tanks that feed proposals into the policy process.\u2019 I am again partially quoting from the same report. In recent times we have also heard about Chinese NGOs, whether they are completely non-governmental or not.<\/p>\n

Among the political scientists, the characterization of the Chinese political system often oscillates between the concepts of \u2018meritocracy\u2019 (Daniel Bell) and \u2018deliberative democracy\u2019 (H. Li).<\/p>\n

Different Interpretations <\/strong><\/p>\n

Even among those who were reporting from Beijing, for various news agencies and newspapers worldwide, the way Xi\u2019s speech was treated differed considerably from one to the other. While some were \u2018kind\u2019 and objective, the others were prejudicial or critical. The full text of the speech is not yet available in English for our own judgement. Let me give some glimpses of some of these reports.<\/p>\n

Simon Denyer of the \u2018Washington Post\u2019<\/em> was not so kind declaring it as a \u201ccall on the party to tighten its grip on the country.\u201d He placed more attention to the security arrangements and cleaning out of the dissidents from the city as preparation for the congress. He further said, it was \u201ca far-reaching agenda for the Communist Party, outlining a vision of total control, not only of the nation\u2019s economy and the Internet but also of culture, religion and morals<\/em>.\u201d He characterized, Xi speaking beneath gigantic red drapes and a huge hammer and sickle in the mammoth Great Hall as a monument to \u2018communist authoritarianism.\u2019<\/p>\n

To Tom Phillips of \u2018The Guardian\u2019<\/em> (Australian edition), it was slightly a different story. To him, \u2018Xi Jinping has heralded the dawn of a \u201cnew era\u201d of Chinese politics and of course power.\u2019 He had more reporting than interpretation. He said \u2018Xi, who has sought to portray himself as a strong and stable international statesman since last year\u2019s election of Donald Trump, also painted China as a responsible global power that was committed to tackling shared dangers such as climate change.\u2019<\/p>\n

The first report from the BBC by John Sudworth was not that soft. It was \u201ca speech that spells power.\u201d \u201cIf anyone doubts that China retains an unreformed Leninist political system, then the goings-on inside the Great Hall of the people over the past few hours should put them straight,\u201d he said. One criticism was about Xi\u2019s long speech. Sudworth also said, \u2018If anyone thought China would inevitably become politically freer, it is wrong.\u2019 He concluded, \u2018China\u2019s rigid political Leninism is here to say.\u2019 However, later several reports from BCC China editor, Carrie Gracie, was different. She interviewed several in the Beijing Metro and reported \u2018Beijing\u2019s metro gives a thumps-up to Xi Jinping\u2019s speech.\u2019<\/p>\n

What did \u2018The Australian\u2019<\/em> say? Reported by Rowan Callick it claimed \u2018no ranting, no raving.\u2019 Then what? \u2018It was a speech that claimed world power.\u2019 He further said, \u2018but the message was thoroughly combative.\u2019 He counted how many times Jinping uttered the word \u2018army\u2019 \u2018China\u2019 and \u2018party.\u2019 Those were the key words that he identified, not \u2018market,\u2019 \u2018reform\u2019 or \u2018development.\u2019 He had some interesting comments about the hierarchy behind Xi Jinping on the stage – the party elite. \u201cOf the 264 people there, just 31 were women,\u201d he exclaimed.<\/p>\n

Takeaways! <\/strong><\/p>\n

There were people who talked about different takeaways; three, five or even seven, from Xi\u2019s speech. However, Chris Buckley and Keith Bradsher of \u2018The New York Times<\/em>\u2019 were more objective highlighting \u2018five takeaways\u2019 from the speech. I would go along those lines. They were:<\/p>\n