China lines up sweeping reforms
By James Kynge in Beijing
Published: June 11 2003 21:57 | Last Updated: June 11 2003 21:57
news.ft.com
China has set up a secret top-level body to draft sweeping changes to its constitution, foreshadowing landmark economic and political reforms that could change the ideological complexion of the communist state.
The move highlights the increasing authority of Hu Jintao, president, who only took office three months ago but is now beginning to set the political agenda - according to one official - like a silkworm eating through a leaf.
The new body's most concrete task is to draft a constitutional amendment that would give the property of private enterprises the same level of legal protection as state-owned enterprises, official sources said. This would be one of the most significant constitutional changes since the 1949 revolution that brought the Communist party to power.
In its current form, clause 12 in the constitution provides explicit protection for "socialist public property" but omits any mention of the property of private enterprises, the most dynamic part of the domestic economy.
The amendment, which may be adopted by the National People's Congress as early as next March, could provide a considerable boost to the fortunes of private enterprises, which find it difficult to secure bank credit and can suffer from official discrimination.
The establishment of the new body highlights how Mr Hu is beginning to emerge from the shadow of his predecessor Jiang Zemin, whose allies still dominate the ruling politburo.
Mr Jiang had begun to stress the importance of the constitution before he retired. But Mr Hu seized the initiative when he ordered that the first politburo "study session" of his term should be on the inviolability of the constitution.
It was also Mr Hu who led the politburo - from which Mr Jiang has now retired - to approve the establishment of the new constitutional body. The body is headed by Wu Bangguo, chairman of the National People's Congress, official sources said.
In a speech on July 1, Mr Hu may take the process a stage further by stressing the constitutional rights of party members to participate in choosing their leaders. By emphasising such rights, which are not fully observed at the moment, the new president will launch a new push for limited "intra-party democracy", official sources said.
The main thrust of this idea is to combat official corruption by allowing officials more latitude to supervise each other through voting. One reform under consideration is to allow more than one candidate to vie for the posts of city mayor and provincial governor, then subject them to a vote by the People's Congress in their locality. Currently, such posts are filled by Communist party appointments.
Nevertheless, it remains likely that even if such a reform was adopted, all candidates would still be chosen by the party, official sources said.
The concept behind promoting intra-party democracy is not to erode the current system of single-party dictatorship but to strengthen and prolong it. There remain no signs that Beijing is considering embracing adversarial politics conditioned by opposition parties and direct suffrage. xref China survives Sars, Page 7 Editorial Comment, Page 12 www.ft.com/china |
