As Beijing celebrates 60 years of Chinese Communist Party (CCP) rule, a review of history reveals that the “achievements” of the first 30 years were exactly what the Party tried to reverse over the past 30 years. Conversely, the “reforms” of the last 30 years represent a return to what had already existed in China before the communist revolution.
In other words, over the last 60 years, in terms of social and economic structures, China has come full circle in terms of reinvention.
Revolution and Reform
The CCP's rule of China can be considered in two phases: 1949 to 1978 was a period of violent political movements. During this period, China went through land ownership reform, suppression of counter-revolutionaries, elimination of urban private property ownership, the Anti-Rightists movement, the Great Leap Forward, the three-year famine, urban students being sent to rural areas for “re-education,” and the Cultural Revolution.
Tens of millions lost their lives and millions of families were destroyed as a result of the Party’s policies. The CCP used violence to eliminate private property ownership and force various social reforms. Then they established a planned economy based on public ownership.
After Mao died in 1976, China faced a great crisis. To use the CCP's own words at the time, China was “on the brink of a domestic economic collapse.”
That was what prompted Deng Xiaoping to push for economic reforms. The Chinese government controlled allocation of national resources, and they could carry this out without any public supervision. The so-called “reform” turned into a process of the ruling class snatching public (including individually-owned) wealth by capitalizing on their power.
The Boston Consulting Group's 2006 Global Wealth Survey presents a telling story on the concentration of wealth. The report reveals that 0.4 percent of the families in China (about 1.5 million) possess 70 percent of the nation's wealth.
This calculation only included savings, stocks, and other disclosed financial assets, and did not include any unofficial income.
In other words, over its 60 years of rule, the CCP completed a historical turn-around—violence eliminated private property ownership and government power created the nouveau riche.
Many articles have been written in China to glorify the CCP on its 60th anniversary, and they reflect the CCP's distorted views. The first 30 years of violent elimination of private property ownership has been referred to as the “fruit of the revolution,” while the creation of a new propertied class in the last 30 years is referred to as the “fruit of the reform.” Through the CCP’s twisted logic, both are viewed as “achievements.”
Imperialism vs. Foreign Investment
The propertied class is not the only group that was destroyed by the revolution and saw a renaissance through economic reform. Foreign capital went through the same cycle.The Mao-led revolution sought to “liberate” China from “semi-colonial rule.” “The Imperialists ran away with their tails between their legs,” boasted a popular song at the time.
Some people may remember Mao's famous 1948 editorial “Farewell, Leighton Stuart!” which made fun of the departing American diplomat. Driving foreign capitalists out of China was considered a great “accomplishment” for Mao and a credit to the revolution.
Now with China's economic reforms, attracting foreign investment has become a major goal for the Party. For 16 continuous years, China attracted the highest foreign investment among all developing countries.
Foreign investment also brought China new management concepts and new technologies. China became a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and joined the world community.
Before 1949, it was considered shameful to have foreign capital taking root in China; Mao drove it away and became a hero. After 1979, Deng brought foreign capital back to China. Thus, both the closing off and opening up of China are celebrated as “great achievements” and “unprecedented accomplishments” of the CCP.
Contradictory Logic
By this logic, if something is done by others, it must be discarded; if the same thing is done by the Party, it is a grand achievement. Such distorted thinking could only be created through media censorship.Before communist rule in China, reformist/scholar Hu Shih articulated the view that poverty, illness, ignorance, corruption, and instability are the five ghosts haunting the Chinese nation—ghosts that could only be eliminated through education.
Hu’s pronouncement was strongly criticized by pro-communist scholars such as Liang Shuming for its omission of capitalism and imperialism. Mao later initiated a slogan stating that capitalism, feudalism and imperialism are the three mountains on top of the Chinese people.
Today, those five ghosts are still haunting China, even though the three mountains—representatives of the old social system—have been overthrown. And though the shadows of those ghosts are looming quite large, the CCP touts that the current social system is good and should be followed.
He Qinglian is a well known Chinese economist and author.
First published by BBC Chinese “Focus on China.”http://www.bbc.co.uk/zhongwen/simp/indepth/2009/09/090928_cr_china60.shtml.
