By Zhong Peizhang, translated by Jennifer Haskell
(The author of this article is the former Chief of the News Bureau at the Central Publicity Department of the CPC. Chinese version)
"I am the type of person who fully recognizes suffering; I fear that this year will be the most difficult for the Chinese economy." Wen Jiabao
After the 17th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party, the eleventh session of the National People's Congress opened. Both meetings focused on the topics of democracy and the people's livelihood, and both paid great attention to improving the situation for China's rural residents and improving the well-being of the people. As an element of political system reform, administrative reform also took a step forward. This demonstrates that China is continuing to move forward with reform, and that the tide of history is in the hearts of the people and the party.
In its thirty years of reform and opening up, China has achieved huge successes, which have been praised by both Chinese and non-Chinese alike. There are even those outside of China that summarize China's experience as "the Beijing Consensus," which is praise enough to make one drunk with happiness. Open a Chinese newspaper and the "main themes" all sing the country's praise, while other voices are rarely or never heard. Turn on the television and on each channel you can see performances that extravagantly and luxuriously sing a song of peace and prosperity as well as spectacular feats of engineering. Because of this, people cannot help but adopt the mindset of those passengers aboard the Titanic, entirely unaware that they could hit an iceberg or suffer the surprise attack of a storm. According to a study by the American Pew Research Center on the degree of optimism in seventeen countries, 76% of Chinese respondents believe that the future is bright, more than in any other country.
In fact, the gaps between the rich and poor and between the city and the countryside have widened and corruption has not been contained. The weak state of education, healthcare, and social security systems has not changed, as it remains difficult to afford schooling, housing, and doctors' visits. We are destroying our ecological environment and the problems worsen each day. In facing this reality, people have differing opinions. Currently in China there are two debates: move forward or go back? Move gradually or move radically?
There is no road back.. The Party's 17th National Congress already gave a clear and resounding answer to that question. However, as long as the situation described above does not change, there will be cries to return, and even cries to "make class struggle the guiding principle', a return to the rhetoric of the Cultural Revolution.
Based on historical experience and China's current situation, the NPC and CPPCC have taken to follow the correct sequence to gradually institute reform as their main tune. Furthermore, gradualness has become the consensus of more and more people. At the same time, if the problems outlined above are not resolved or if reform comes to a standstill as bureaucracy, vested interests, and monopoly groups use "stability first" and other such slogans to cover, obstruct or even submerge reform, radical conflict could break out at any time. We still need to watch out for repeated mass incidents that could one day become furious enough to threaten governance by the CPC.
So should we move forward or go back? Should we move gradually or move radically? These two debates will continue in China for a long time.
Where does the worry come from?
As the year 2008 began, China experienced a disastrous snowstorm that froze half the country and left many southern locations paralyzed. The electric power network collapsed in many areas, food shortages arose, and many workers returning home for the Spring Festival ran into difficulties. The crisis brought to light the deficiencies in China's preparation for dealing with such disasters and its emergency response system. It also exposed China's coal reserves and energy crisis as well as the negative consequences of corruption, as monopoly companies had used inferior materials, which weakened the nation's power network.
Thanks to global warming, this type of extreme weather condition could easily become a common occurrence instead of a once in a lifetime phenomenon. A March 19 article on the Christian Science Monitor's website by Jacques Leslie highlighted some of the environmental problems that have resulted from China's rapid economic development, including deforestation and desertification. Leslie asserts, "Of course, what the Chinese are chiefly guilty of is emulating the American economic model, in promoting the development of the automobile industry as a centerpiece of growth, which worsens traffic as well as pollution."
China needs to be on its guard against multinational corporations that take advantage of the deficiencies of the country's environmental protection management, and more and more people are attuned to the actions of these corporations. Beijing officials are taking temporary measures to cut down on pollution for the Olympic Games, but no one knows whether this will continue to be a focus after the event concludes.
Other worries include the possibility of American economic woes affecting China, as prices in the mainland are already facing large inflationary pressure. And as Beijing prepares to host the Olympics, the Lhasa riots have woken people up to the possibility of other attacks. We all must be attuned to the possibility of facing a huge disaster. In today's circumstances, how can China's 1.3 billion people only rely on our prime minister's "full recognition of suffering"? When do we make our officials at all levels wake up from their focus on creating GDP growth and constructing their own image and earnestly bear responsibility to the people for the success of future generations?
Who will monitor the spending of the people's money?
During the past 30 years of rapid economic development, China has accumulated a large amount of wealth. Wen Jiabao's report on the work of the government listed a series of dazzling figures: China's GDP in 2007 reached 24.66 trillion RMB, the fourth largest in the world. Total government revenue reached 5.13 trillion RMB, increasing by a factor of 1.71. Foreign currency reserves surpassed 1.52 trillion RMB, the largest in the world. Speaking at the NPC, Hu Jintao said that China's success is owed to the people. Under the leadership of the CCP, all of the Chinese people have made concerted efforts and struggled tenaciously for this result.
China has begun to accumulate wealth, but who is actually wealthy? How much benefit have the people actually received during reform and opening up?
According to the analysis of Professor Chen Zhiwu, after accounting for inflation, from 1995 to 2007, government revenues increased 5.7 times. At the same time, the per capita disposable income for city and town residents' only increased by a factor of 1.4, while farmers' per capita disposable income increased by a factor of 1.2. Tax revenue is only the most obvious parts of government revenue. In reality, the government is China's largest holder of assets, so as the country's economy has developed, the increase in value of government owned enterprises, public land, and mineral resources is greater than that of tax revenue. The speed of increase is also faster. More than 76% of assets in China are owned by the state, leaving the people with less than 25%. Counting allocable revenue from assets along with the 5.1 trillion RMB in tax revenue, last year the government's total allocable revenue was 15.7 trillion RMB.
As the above situation demonstrates, the reality of China today is that the country is rich while the people are poor. As Professor Chen Zhiwu points out, the biggest gap between the rich and poor in China today is between the state and society, not among the majority of the people.
Government officials are also public servants, and in their hands, they have a large amount of the people's money. How is that money spent? This is a question that people in all modern countries have the right to ask. In a country governed by law, the most important thing is that the money is governed by law. When government exercises the right to do good things for the people, the most basic thing is managing money well. In modern nations, as taxpayers, the people strictly monitor how the government spends their money. At this meeting of the NPC and CPPCC a strong voice should call to account: 5 trillion in state revenue, plus 0.7 trillion of excess revenue, how is it spent?
Who is monitoring how the government spends the money? China has not implemented a separation of the legislative, judicial and executive branches of government in a system of mutual restraint, as it is said that this is a capitalist concept, while China is implementing the socialist people's congress system. The people can entrust essential oversight to the National People's Congress. However, the NPC has so far not sincerely carried out its work of overseeing public finances, which is appalling. According to an official in the Ministry of Finance, Jia Kang (Director of the Ministry of Finance's Research Institute of Fiscal Science), each year during the time the NPC is in session, the Ministry of Finance sends a group of mid-level cadres to each small meeting to explain the ministry's actions and answer questions raised by the NPC. For the past few years he has not had any opportunity to speak at these meetings because no deputies have raised questions. What people further do not understand is that the NPC has taken this sacred responsibility, bestowed on it by the people, and given it to the government itself. When there is no system of oversight, government inevitably begins to operate in a "black box" and abuse its power, especially when it comes to excess revenue. Some provinces and cities use any means possible to persuade central government offices and leaders to approve their plans and allocate money to them. How does this prevent corruption?
Without a strict oversight system, there is no transparency in public finance. People again put their hopes in the "Sunshine Act," which namely oversees officials' assets. As early as 1766, Swedish citizens had the right to examine a list of how much everyone from ordinary to top officials paid in taxes. This system, which has been used as a reference by many countries around the world, became a very effective anti-corruption mechanism, so it became known as the "Sunshine Act." Currently, more than ninety countries around the globe have systems where officials must report their assets, including the Asian countries of Singapore and South Korea, and China's SARs of Hong Kong and Macao. These systems play a vital role in fighting corruption. In October 2005, the NPC approved China's ascension to the "UN Convention against Corruption." As the convention stipulated, "Each State Party shall consider establishing, in accordance with its domestic law, an effective financial disclosure system for appropriate public officials and shall provide for appropriate sanctions for non-compliance." In the past few years, there have already been many deputies, such as Wang Jinjie from Yantai, Shandong and Han Deyun from Shanghai, who have continuously proposed bills and suggestions related to a system for reporting officials' assets at the meeting of the NPC. Chinese people from all walks of life are also very interested in this topic. In January 2008, more than fifty retired high level officials and scholars signed a letter to the NPC and CPPCC requesting that they quickly formulate and implement a "Law for the Public Reporting of Officials' Assets at the County Level or Above", but many officials resisted on technical grounds. So, to this day, we still have not seen this vital aspect of the legal system formulated or implemented.
Only with a strict, effective system of oversight can we effectively prevent corruption. This is not only important in managing the people's money but also in cultivating people's talents to become good cadres and officials.
In answering a reporter's question at the NPC press conference, Premier Wen Jiabao said, "In the next five years, we will resolutely advance the reform of the public finance system so that the people's money will be better spent in pursuit of the people's interests." The people hope that they will not have to wait five more years before they can see an open and transparent financial system.
"Only if you put the people in your heart can the people allow you to govern"
These words were said at a press conference by Wen Jiabao. People can see that as a country's economic situation improves, officials consider how to bring that benefit to the people. Not only Singapore, but also China's Hong Kong and Macao have acted in this way. Russia is also a great example. After the collapse of the USSR and the disaster of "shock therapy," Putin's powerful measures have helped the country's economy recover, as last year's growth rate reached 8.1%. At a news release conference, a Western reporter asked about Russia's presidential elections, "Why is there no competition in the Russian politics?" Putin answered, "Wages have gone up by 16%, that is my answer for you." His answer reflects the idea of putting the people in your heart. With people at the center of Russia's economic growth, they can earnestly benefit, and Putin and his officials can safely retain the leadership positions given to them by the people.
Another question worth thinking about is why China continues to rely on cheap exports and does not call on its own great purchasing power. Why is America's purchasing power the highest in the world? In the US, the government owns virtually no productive assets, while in China the government owns 76% of all assets. Americans' have a savings rate of –1%, while at the same time they invest in stocks and mutual funds, and they can rely on the rising value of their assets to make money. We cannot believe that the state-owned economy will make us rich. "There has never been a country that got rich while maintaining a large state-owned economy, and there has never been a country that truly relied on the state system for wealth." (Chen Zhiwu, The Driving Force for the Future of the Chinese Economy). Besides in "returning the wealth to the people", the country should also "hide the wealth within the people," thus, the private economy must be actively encouraged to develop for the benefit of the people.
How can we still reform gradually?
Gradual reform has already become the consensus of more and more Chinese people.
There are many historical arguments for gradual reform. Right before his death, Engels changed his thoughts on how to create a socialist society, saying that the old capitalist system could be changed peacefully via the democratic and constitutional processes. Additionally, in the 20th century, many European countries used gradual reform to put democratic socialism into effect. Within the capitalist structure, countries like Sweden, via the development of production capability and regulating allocation, have basically eliminated the gaps between city and countryside, between workers and farmers, and between laborers and management. They have also prevented the rise of a privileged class and put an end to official corruption.
The United States also used gradual reform to achieve its success. Despite experiencing economic crises, social crises, racial conflict, and cold and hot wars over the past hundred years, the US not only avoided violent revolution, coup-de-tat, or other forms of government overthrow but also became the lone superpower. The US's success can be credited to its gradual reform, as its defining characteristic is gradual improvement and compromise, both of which work to neutralize conflicts and crises. Additionally, one can learn from the failure of Russia's radical reform in the 1990s and the mistake of copying Western models without regard for the local situation.
China's thirty years of gradual reform prove that this road is the correct one to lead the country towards success. The Chinese people have survived long periods of chaos and disaster and suffered much harm. How can we continue to advance? Deng Xiaoping's deep and wise words, "crossing the river by feeling the stones," means that China's reality must be clearly recognized and policies must be based on it. However, this is not to say that we can unswervingly hold onto the notion of "stability before everything else." Our goal is still to "cross the river," and follow the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics, and this means continuing with reform and opening up in order to advance.
The three essential points of gradual reform
How can we ensure that gradual reform continues?
1. Emancipate our minds
Hu Jintao said, "emancipating our minds is precious," while Wen Jiabao added that emancipating our minds can never stop. Both are correct. Only by emancipating our minds can we take all of humanity's creation and use it towards civilized achievements to enrich our thinking. Only by emancipating our minds can we cultivate our own skill to the level of mastery and enrich our creative talent. Only by emancipating our minds can China stop acting as the "factory of the world," and become a country with high levels of intellectual property creation, with the Chinese people contributing to modern human civilization.
In order to emancipate our minds, we first need to thoroughly destroy "capitalist phobia". We believe what the Communist Manifesto, the bible of Marxism, clearly points out, that capitalist creation of wealth creates much more wealth than what was created in any other period of human history. Even today, in many areas, capitalism creates the vanguard of production capability. Only if you have the ability to climb to the peak of capitalist creation can you then create a new peak of socialism. Why do we want to bind ourselves by Mao Zedong's "Two All" or the slogans of other leaders, but dare not take the clearly useful experience of the past hundreds of years of capitalist creation for our own use?
2. Earnestly advance government system reform
If we sincerely want to resolve the issues pointed out at an early time by Deng Xiaoping, the excessive accumulation of power and the separation of party and state, we must earnestly make the legislature and judiciary independent. In its many years, the NPC has passed many laws, but it has not conscientiously done work towards its oversight function. At many levels of government, the heads of the people's congresses are often also the head of the government. Many governors or mayors are also people's deputies, both athlete and referee. How can someone oversee himself? The NPC should earnestly oversee the government's finances and quickly formulate and put into practice a system to report on officials' assets. Hong Kong set up the Independent Commission Against Corruption, which effectively monitors all of the region's officials, so why can't the mainland do it too?
3. Guarantee free speech and set up community oversight
It is impossible to imagine a country on earth or a type of society that is perfect and without fault, where everything is harmonious and without contraction. The issue lies in choosing to expose weakness and resolving contradictions or choosing to shut the lid, allowing problems to intensify and moving towards corruption and break down. One could say, since its birth, capitalism has matured by listening to those who expose its weaknesses and provide criticism. Even today, the Western world still thinks of Marx, the 19th century philosopher who proffered the most severe criticism of capitalism, as the world's greatest thinker. In the US, from politicians to ordinary citizens, most believe that spiritedly blowing the horn of criticism is a "main theme" of society and provides lubricant for societal advancement and a catalyst for government reform.
As forces continue to move China forward, along with the wise leaders at all levels who make decisions, China also depends upon the initiatives of members of society at all levels as well as on the oversight of public opinion. In past Chinese dynasties, wise leaders always utilized criticism and oversight for the advancement of governance. For example, Tang Taizong regarded Wei Zheng's criticism as necessary and valuable. Today, however, some Chinese officials do not hear opposing views, and some county party secretaries have jailed those who disagree with them. Why is the positive power of loving one's country and one's people regarded as a scary, hostile power? We need to sincerely safeguard the right to free speech. The United Nations passed the "International Convention on the Rights of Citizens and Governments." As a permanent member of the UN Security Council, China signed the convention ten years ago, but we are still waiting for the NPC to approve implementation of the agreement. The people also hope that the NPC can formulate and implement laws to safeguard freedom of the press that have been discussed for the past twenty to thirty years.
As the author of Cold Eyes Towards the West, Zi Zhongyun points out, "in one word, the separation of powers, supervision of public opinion, and the critical spirit of intellectuals, can these special American good luck charms continue to effectively restrict the power of money and the market? This is America's biggest test as it enters the 21st century." We have definitely not reached the end of history, as the advancement of development has always come from struggling with contradiction. All countries have endured these types of tests. Let our country face these tests and advance without fear.
Chinese leaders have already said the words that many people hope to hear. A thousand miles begins with a single step. Now people hope to see sincere action. Taking education as an example, the quality of education determines the quality of a people and the people's destiny and future. Chinese leaders say they want to prioritize education, but for many years, the amount of money put into education is still not more than what is spent on state-owned cars and food and drink at the public's expense. The UN standard for education spending is 6% of GDP. The average level worldwide is 4.9%, while the average for developing countries is 4.1%. China's education spending has fluctuated between 2-3%, with the set goal being to reach 4% by 2010. Although many NPC and CPPCC deputies have appealed for action, education spending still did not reach 4% in 2007. We say we want universal compulsory education, but today in China more than 80% of primary schools and more than 64% of middle schools are in rural areas. Furthermore, many county governments have large debts, so how can they guarantee the quality of compulsory education? Leaders say that education must be fully supported in spite of financial constraints and that they want to make China into a country of creation. Now our country has money. Can we resolutely study the high levels of investment that countries like Sweden and Holland put into education and become a world leader in creation? The people are waiting.
No comments:
Post a Comment