Communist leaders reject Western-style reform
Beijing (AsiaNews) - China's Communist Party will follow its own path and shun "extremist" ideas of change based on foreign models, this according to Yu Zhengsheng, president of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) who spoke to its members yesterday during its annual meeting currently underway in Beijing alongside the National People's Congress, which is set to elect Xi Jinping as the People's Republic new president.
Yu Zhengsheng called on his colleagues yesterday to reject "extravagance and not to be engaged in any deeds that use their power and influence to seek personal gain".
The 68-year-old told CPPCC delegates to be "outspoken and straightforward" in advising the government and to reject "indifference and listlessness" in their work.
"We need to more strictly follow the socialist path of political development with Chinese characteristics," he explained.
Yu's appeal goes well with the campaign launched by China's new strongman, Xi Jinping, who has been an outspoken critic of excesses by party officials.
"His statement comes amid growing, louder calls for Western-style democratic reform and thus is sending a message that the leadership doesn't want any such bold action in the foreseeable future," said Professor Zhang Ming, a political scientist at Renmin University.
This comes at a time when the domestic political situation is troubled. Shaken by scandals involving leaders and officials accused of corruption, embezzlement and even sexual abuse, the Communist Party has seen its credibility drop in the past few years.
Fifth generation leader Xi Jinping has been trying to restore the latter. At the same time, he has warned the country's military that they should draw lessons from the collapse of the communist regime in the former Soviet Union.
In a speech, he warned delegates from the People's Liberation Army (PLA) that the military should remain loyal to the ruling Chinese Communist Party.
Online, comments about official speeches are not very positive however. "I wish there were more officials who told the truth," wrote one user on the popular Sina Weibo micro-blogging service. "All this talk of China's special circumstances and Chinese characteristics is nothing but official 'gobbledegook'."
Shanghai-based author Li Huaping said China's ruling class was obviously worried about maintaining its grip on power.
"They have learned from the collapse of the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe how to avoid collapse, which means increasing control over the military and over ideology, as well as over officials," he noted.
However, "they haven't bothered to reflect that the root causes of [that] collapse lay in the anti-human system perpetrated by communism."
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