The Hindu : CPC focus shifts to economic issues

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Nov 11, 2002

International

International

CPC focus shifts to economic issues

By P. S. Suryanarayana

BEIJING Nov. 10. As China's ruling establishment carried forward its multi-channelled in-camera discussions, the focus on the margins of the 16th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) on Sunday shifted to economic issues from the larger political question of a possible leadership change within the next few days.

At a different level within the overall framework of the CPC's conclave, delegations from different provinces held discussions on the issues before them. During these discussions, some of which were open to the press, the delegates brought to bear a certain degree of transparency and candour within the larger context of the party's traditional objectives and new directions that were outlined by China's President and CPC helmsman, Jiang Zemin, on Friday when the week-long Congress began.

There were no dissenting voices as such, while the grassroots-level confabulations were marked by some intensity of purpose. On the political plane, the CPC leaders dropped no new hints today about the possible succession at the party's highest echelons. However, a political message is still being conveyed by the regularity at which judgement is pronounced within the party's hierarchy on the performance of ``the third generation collective leadership'' that has had "Mr. Jiang Zemin at the core''.

Mao Zedong's creation of a communist state and Deng Xiaoping's "paramount leadership'' are the defining contributions of the two earlier generations at the CPC's top layers. At one level, the intended message obviously is that the "collective leadership'' under Mr. Jiang is poised for the history books.

At another level, though, the sustainability of the policies of this ``collective leadership'' is seen as a subtle hint about the continuing relevance of Mr. Jiang or at least his policies. It is against this duality of interpretations that the mystique of political succession is still being kept alive in a manner that is true of Western-style democracies.

The official word today on the main political issue was summed up as follows by a spokesman of the Congress: "In the 13 years since the founding of the third generation collective leadership with Mr. Jiang Zemin at the core, China has made remarkable achievements in reform and opening-up. The Central Party Committee (under Mr. Jiang's guidance) has held high the great banner of Deng Xiaoping Theory (which introduced Chinese communism to a select class of capitalist principles)''.

Mr. Jiang's team has also "implemented the thought of "Three Representations" (on how the CPC should represent the Chinese population as a political entity).

The Jiang team "followed the path of building socialism with Chinese characteristics'' and took steps for a "socialist modernisation drive'', it was underlined by the spokesman. While the reference to the 13-year period of the Jiang era is, arguably, a testament to the stability and progress that he and his team have brought about since the Tiananmen Square incidents of 1989, the resplendent Square in Beijing, which bears a Mao leitmotif and stands today as a symbol of the political stability and economic progress of the Jiang era, was also a scene of China's most momentous transformation into a communist state over half a century ago.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

International

Stories in this Section

Sinha arrives in Seoul

Sri Lankan Defence officials meet LTTE commanders

U.K. prepared for war: Hoon

Prabakaran's fingerprint, the clinching evidence

CPC focus shifts to economic issues

None to blame for delay in govt. formation: Pak. Minister

Musharraf deal with MQM for a pliable govt.?

'India has edge over China in Russia's defence ties'

Indian Jews resist DNA tests