China’s Liaoning province has been rocked by a major corruption scandal that has paralysed the provincial administration, bringing into focus the political and economic woes of north-east China. Earlier this month, 523 members of the Liaoning Provincial People’s Congress were accused of large scale bribery that was apparently critical in enabling them become local law makers. All of them have either resigned or have been disqualified. Consequently, the entire provincial administration has become virtually dysfunctional.
Speculation is rife that greasing palms has not been uncommon among sections of China’s ambitious political class, especially at the local level. In China’s pyramidal political structure, local representatives from the level of China’s 2,852 counties, advance some of their peers to the next rung of the political ladder, with powerful bodies that run the provincial legislature, as an important midway destination.
But it is in this process of achieving upward political mobility that large scale politicking and vote-buying has come into focus. In 2013, a major vote-buying scandal in the Hunan province had grabbed national headlines, leading to large scale sacking of law makers. Analysts say that apart from structural issues, historical factors could be behind the multiple crises rocking Liaoning province, part of the northeast China, which is also encountering serious economic difficulties.
“Rich in coal and other mineral resources Liaoning and neighbouring Heilongjiang provinces benefited from the first wave of industrialisation, led by state-enterprises, backed frequently by the former Soviet Union,” said a former official who did not wish to be named. But with obsolesce creeping in hundreds of thousands lost their jobs, with economic restructuring of the State Owned Enterprises (SOE) kicking in at the turn of the century. “Unfortunately massive unemployment encouraged criminilisation and desperation to acquire political influence,” he explained.
A recent article in the state-run Global Times , acknowledged serious economic problems in the north-east, but counseled patience in order to achieve a turn around. “The economic performances in China's three northeastern provinces - Liaoning, Jilin and Heilongjiang - have been among the worst in China the last two years. The GDP of Jilin and Heilongjiang only grew 6.7 per cent and 5.7 per cent, respectively, from a year ago in the first half of the year, while Liaoning's economy contracted 1 per cent during the same time - the worst performance among all provinces and municipalities,” the daily observed. However, the article cautioned against hasty conclusions that “China's strategy to revitalise the old industrial bases in the Northeast launched in 2004 has failed”.
The daily underscored that global slowdown is partly responsible in explaining the north-east’s economic lethargy. “When prices of bulk raw materials or primary commodities on domestic and international markets drop, the region is inevitably impacted by the uncontrollable and unpredictable external factors and the economy faces a structural decline. This situation is by no means unique to China's north-east.” Besides, the region has accumulated considerable production overcapacity. “The output of industries such as high-end equipment manufacturing, robotics, biomedicine and new materials have grown more than 10 per cent in the first half of the year. The only issue is that traditional industries still make up a large portion of the regional economy and the new industries have not yet become the main driver.”
The daily highlighted that the north-east provinces were waging a prolonged battle, which will continue at least until 2025. “National support and innovation are the key conditions for rejuvenating the region,” which had a population of 109 million in 2015.
