60 years in the PRC: From Mao to now, the corruption of power
Rome (AsiaNews) – The big and powerful China that wants to celebrate his 60th birthday on October 1 refuses to come to terms with its history. Many would like to verify whether the ideals of '49 have been achieved, or betrayed.
Zhu Houze, who before his release was a member of the underground Communist Party in Guiyang, in an interview with the South China Morning Post (22/09/2009) recalls the founding of the Republic hailed by the speech of Mao Zedong in Tiananmen Square: "We thought we would be immediately liberated and start to build a new, free, democratic and prosperous country”. In the '80s Zhu was also minister of the propaganda department of the Central Committee, but now is one of those "disappointed" by developments in the party. It is worth retracing some stages of the "successes" but also of the "failures" of these 60 years.
If we take into account the economic and political aspects alone, then we could say that in the early years, the party won the respect of the population: no corruption or divisions as in the days of Chiang Kai-shek; low inflation; heavy industry was rebuilt (on the Soviet model); agriculture flourished. But the stubbornness of Mao and his economic incompetence lead to the Great Leap Forward (1958-1961) that caused death by starvation of about 50 million people. The stories of people talk about describe farmers in desperate search for food, with people dying on the sides of roads, the hungry feeding on the meat of the dead. To stop party criticism against him (who wanted to take power away), Mao launched the Cultural Revolution in '66, which lasted until his death in 1976. The Cultural Revolution, which is still remembered as a period of "chaos", divided society, destroyed families, killed millions of people, divided the party between "young" and "old" guard, army and Red Guards, parents and children.
The openings of Deng Xiaoping, in the late '70s, considered the bright ideals of the "reformer" were in fact a necessity. To save China from hunger and raise the fortunes of a destroyed economy, Deng Xiaoping opened the country to foreign investment and began the economic reforms that have brought China to its current splendour.
The problem is that Deng's modernization (Army, science, agriculture and industry) lack a fifth element: democracy. Because of this, the country currently enjoys an enviable status in economic terms (in general), but remains an outcast from the perspective of human rights. Even after 30 years since his reforms, the country does not enjoy freedom of press, association, expression, religion, while the powers of the executive, judiciary and legislature are all under the control of the CCP.
Chinese society sacrificed to the Party
Bao Tong is a former party leader, who fell into disgrace when he sympathized with the young people in Tiananmen Square in '89. He has suffered 7 years in prison and still lives under house arrest. In a long conversation on the modernization of Deng (with Radio Free Asia, 5/1/2009), he points out that Deng Xiaoping was in fact responsible for a more radical change compared to Mao. Even with all his imperial emphasis, the Great Helmsman had "socialism" at heart as the ideal of the party and the country. Instead Deng maintained that everything in China had to serve to "maintain the leadership of the Party". Defending the party became the most important thing, defending the rights of citizens became a secondary issue. In this way - Bao Tong says - the very existence of the CCP became the ideal to which all of Chinese society had to sacrifice itself.
The China of Hu Jintao continues to promote and improve the economy in a surprising way: Beijing seems to have surpassed all even before the great economic crisis (unless you count the 60 million unemployed). But the stability of society and the hegemony of the party remain milestones for the fourth generation of leadership.
Failures and Corruption
Within the party there are demands for more democracy and political reform. The same Zhu Houze, now 78 years-old, along with other retired members wrote several times to leadership criticizing the lack of control of the Party’s power, which generates the scourge of corruption, demanding democracy and a free press. But he never received any response. "We have to overcome - says Zhu - the limited perception of only economic development of the market and the maintenance of a single party. We must begin reforming the political system".
The last plenum of the Central Committee (15-18 September 2009) was due to discuss the fight against corruption and internal democracy in the CCP. But no specific indication has emerged. In contrast, in one of many meetings to celebrate the 60 years, Hu Jintao preached on his favourite slogan: "harmony between different ethnic and religious groups," "strengthening solidarity", "resolving contradictions," "pursuit of democracy”. But he quickly made clear that it is not a case of “copying Western models”, but of implementing a system with "Chinese characteristics ", whereby the "supremacy of the Communist Party" always comes first.
The great successes of China are obvious to the eyes of all, but also the great failures of China: a society where the state controls more than 70% of the economy, curbing creativity and handing out promotions and favours to those without any merit, rampant corruption results in up to 3% of gross domestic product being stolen from the state, lack of social support for the poor, pensioners, unemployed, a lack of access to health and education facilities for a fall, parents who sell their organs to pay for college for children, pollution, harassment, seizures of land and houses by members of the party. Because of this, now the party is seen as synonymous with "corruption."
Un fatto citato da Asia Times (23 settembre 2009) racconta che una bambina di 6 anni a Guangzhou, rispondendo alla domanda “Cosa vuoi fare da grande?” ha detto: “Voglio diventare un funzionario corrotto. La mamma dice sempre che un funzionario corrotto può avere molte, molte cose a casa sua”.
A fact cited by Asia Times (23 September 2009) tells of how a girl of 6 years of age in Guangzhou, answering the question "What do you want to be when you grow up?” responded, "I want to become a corrupt official. My Mum always says that corrupt officials can have many, many things at home”.
The "mass incidents" and civil society
Several analysts are wondering whether such a China, a giant in economic performance, but lame in political reform, can keep going, or if sooner or later it will be so vulnerable as to succumb.
Already, signs of anxiety increased in step with the apparent economic performance.
In the latest estimates reported by Chinese press, last year there were over 100 thousand "mass incidents" (at least one every 4-5 minutes), or protests of hundreds or thousands of people seeking justice for the abuses, or unpaid wages, or poisoning or seizures of land. The figure is 16% higher in cases officially registered by the Ministry for Public Security in 2006 (87 thousand accidents). These "incidents" have also led to party and police headquarters being set on fire, gun battles between police and demonstrators, to deaths on both sides.
The Party continues to preach "stability before all" and is ready - as in the days preceding celebrations for the 60th anniversary - to arrest people (about 6500), deploy tanks, spies and police.
To save its supremacy, the Party continues to kill people, the very "people" who belong to the "Republic of China" that was founded 60 years ago.
But time does not pass in vain. The most surprising fact is that in all these decades, a civil society ever more attentive to their rights has emerged "among the people". It includes activists, journalists, lawyers, consumers, mothers, employees, contractors, bureaucrats. In a strictly non violent way they denounce the misdeeds of the party cadres, they appeal for the health of their poisoned children (as in the case of melamine in milk), defend their land and property rights, maintain the right to religious freedom, they ask for the right to vote to express their preference for one or the other leader.
According to Bao Tong, the reform of Chinese society will be accomplished by this "movement for civil rights." "If people can defend their rights and if they are given what they deserve, if the State bows to public opinion and officials serve them, and if people can see the work of bureaucrats who discard the their so-called 'divine right' to rule, then there is hope for China ... hopes for China are based on a peaceful, ready, persistent civil rights movement, who will use activism to implement the Constitution and save this nation and its people". (End of second part).
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01/10/2019 10:15
