Shenzhen begins reforms to permit democratic elections
Beijing (AsiaNews/Agencies) - The communist party of Shenzhen is approving reforms in view of democratic mayoral and parliamentary elections. Meanwhile, two elections have been overturned in Guangdong, because of corruption and fraud under the current system.
In China, "democratic" elections for mayor and parliament have been tried only in small towns, where independent candidates nonetheless met with threats and fraud in favour of communist party candidates. In the cities, elections were limited to party members. Now the communist party of Shenzen is planning innovations such as: democratic elections for parliament and mayor, the requirement for leading officials to declare their property, the independence of the judicial system (currently subjected to the communist party), to be introduced "when conditions are ripe".
No great changes are expected in the short term, and the approved document indicates principles to be implemented under strict communist party control. For this reason, many analysts doubt that there is any real desire for reforms. But it is already worth noting that the communist party in one large city is planning them. The party head in Shenzen, Liu Yupu, emphasises that "The purpose of launching the framework yesterday is to give impetus to a new round of development. We should have the courage to take on risks brought by reform". La Zheng, head of the social sciences academy in Shenzen, emphasises that the proposal has the "essential" support of the central government.
Beijing certainly wants to rethink the current system, full of corruption that causes injustices and social protests. Just two days ago, elections were postponed in the district of Longgang (Guangdong), where the population charged that the four candidates, all party officials for years, offered up to 2,000 yuan (200 euros) for each vote. They also complain that they secretly sold public land to private parties and pocketed the money. The people have lost trust and are waiting for the promised official investigation to reveal the truth, and for a better candidate to come forward.
For this reason, the inhabitants of Taiping (a city in Dongsheng) have taken justice into their own hands: on May 25, thousands of them assaulted the home of their former mayor, Lu Shuaidai, and roughed him up. They accuse him of electoral fraud in favour of his candidate, who won the mayoral election on May 19, and above all of appropriating their land at an unfair price. The government of Dongsheng immediately provided 20 million yuan for the 7,000 inhabitants of Taiping, and cancelled the elections, postponing them until a date yet to be determined. (PB)
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