Premier Wen Jiabao has said he has faced resistance from sections of the Chinese leadership in taking forward political reforms in China, for the first time revealing that there was a split between leaders of the Communist Party over the sensitive question.
In an interview with CNN broadcast on Sunday, Mr. Wen said he had faced “resistance” to taking forward political reforms, which have stagnated even as China has pushed forward economic reforms over the past three decades. “I believe I and all the Chinese people have such a conviction that China will make continuous progress, and the people's wishes and needs for democracy and freedom are irresistible,” he said.
He said freedom of speech was “indispensable” for any country, and warned the next generation of leadership, which takes over from him and President Hu Jintao in 2012, that those who went against “the will of the people” would “fail.”
In recent months, the Chinese Premier has stirred debate among sections of the ruling party and the media here with increasingly forceful public calls for reform. “In spite of the various discussions and views in society, and in spite of some resistance, I will act in accordance with [my] ideals unswervingly and advance within the realm of my capabilities political restructuring,” said Mr. Wen. “The wish and will of the people are not stoppable,” he added. “Those who go along with the trend will survive, and those who go against the trend will fail….I will not fall in spite of the strong wind and harsh rain, and I will not yield till the last day of my life.”
In April, Mr. Wen penned an article in the official People's Daily newspaper in which he praised the disgraced former leader, and his mentor, Hu Yaobang, who was ousted by hard-line groups in the 1980s and remains absent from official histories. And, in August, during a trip to Shenzhen to mark the thirtieth anniversary of economic reforms, he called for “political restructuring”, warning that “stagnation” in political reforms would threaten the progress China had made over three decades of opening up. Some of his remarks were not reported by the official media in China.
Mr. Wen's remarks have divided opinion among scholars here. Some have argued the Premier's comments were only directed to please liberal groups, with no prospect of change on the cards. Other analysts say his remarks suggest a push by the Premier to push for reforms before his term ends.
In the interview, he also called for the rule of law and greater scrutiny of the Communist Party. “My view is that a political party, after it becomes a ruling party, should be somewhat different from the one when it was struggling for power,” he said. “The biggest difference should be that this political party should act in accordance with the Constitution and the law.”
“I often say that we should not only let people have the freedom of speech,” he added. “More importantly, we must create conditions to let people criticise the work of the government. It is only when there is supervision and critical oversight from the people that the government will be in a position to do an even better job, and employees of government departments will be true public servants.”
