The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is again testing the response of Western democratic governments and people through releasing some bubbles of “political reform”.
According to the report of some pro-CCP newspapers in Hong Kong, Mr. Hu Jingtao, General-Secretary of the CCP and President of the Peoples Republic of China, has planned a large scale remembrance in November for the 90th anniversary from the birth of Mr. Hu Yaobang, the late General-Secretary of the CCP.
This is obviously another game of the CCP attempting to exploit the fame of Hu Yaobang, and there is no sign that the CCP will change its harsh position on the 1989 Tiananmen Square Massacre or ease its continuing massive human rights violations.
The late party chief Hu Yaobang was the leader of the reformism movement in the CCP in the mid-1980s. He used to be the head of the Communist Youth League as did Hu Jingtao. The reputation of Hu Yaobang grew after his heavy involvement in the rehabilitation of the 100 million people mistreated during the Proletarian Cultural Revolution.
He was an open-minded reformer and was appointed to be a General-Secretary of the CCP in 1981, but was ousted by paramount leader Deng Xiaoping in 1987 for his failure to curb the 1986 student demonstrations.
He died from a heart attack at a Political Bureau’s meeting on April 15, 1989, which resulted in the university students instigating the 1989 pro-democracy movement by mourning his death in support of his political reform proposal.
For the past sixteen years the pressure at home and abroad for a political reform in China has been increasing dramatically and Hu Jingtao has been pushed into a corner. Most of the Chinese are very disappointed at Hu Jingtao’s lack of progress in the political field after his succession of power from Jiang Zemin.
The Hu Jingtao Government not only has restricted the media more tightly, but also has committed more crimes on human rights. Hu Jingtao has demonstrated himself as an orthodox Marxist attempting to revive the corpse of communism in China. The social order is in chaos, and the systematic corruption is even worse, and the economy is stuck in a deep crisis.
In January this year, Mr. Zhao Zhiyang, another former General-Secretary removed by Deng Xiaoping in 1989, died after 15 years under house arrest. The CCP’s top leaders issued instructions to confine Zhao’s mourning activities being concerned about a strong reaction from Chinese society or a cry of rehabilitation of the Tiananmen Square Massacre.
In April, the CCP organized some demonstrations against Japan in an attempt to block Japan’s bid for a permanent membership at the U.N. Security Council, but later hurried to stop the demonstrations for fear of demonstrators shifting their target to the CCP.
Now the Communist Government is increasingly becoming less and less confident in controlling its people. The exhausted Hu Jingtao has no alternative but to pretend to be a political reformer like Hu Yaobang.
Is Hu Jingtao a real political reformer? Of course not. He was chosen privately as the “four-generation leader” by the “second-generation leader” Deng Xiaoping instead of being popularly elected. His authority is based on the totalitarian power of communism combined with military force. He cannot represent the Chinese people, he only represents a small circle of corrupt CCP leaders.
Hu dares not to release the CCP’s grip on power. The example set by the former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev is considered a bad omen by the CCP’s top officials.
In his youth, Hu Jingtao was brainwashed by the party doctrines and he is a typical slave of the party. His timid character prevents him from taking any risky steps. Moreover, Hu Jingtao’s power is limited for his weakness in the Central Military Committee, and a number of wolves such as Jiang Zemin, Zeng Qinghong and Li Peng are watching silently.
A careful rhetoric on the commemoration of Hu Yaobang may lead to an unexpected effect. Hu Yaobang is a reverent communist, before his death he said he wanted to be given a title of “Marxist”. His original purpose of proposing political reform was to make the CCP stronger by introducing democracy to the party.
Hu Yaobang had been treated differently from Zhao Zhiyang. Hu Yaobang didn’t air his personal views on any public occasion while Zhao was considered a party traitor for being sympathetic to the 1989 student demonstrators and being publicly against Deng Xiaoping. So there is no risk of rehabilitating Hu Yaobang. Hu Jingtao wishes to be a politician like Hu Yaobang and change his image of persecuting dissidents and wants to be respected popularly.
Furthermore, according to The Epoch Times (Chinese Version) issue from September 10, 2005, a series of books about Hu Yaobang such as “The Biography of Hu Yaobang” and “A Writings Collection of Hu Yaobang” will be published according to the instruction from Mr. Wang Gang, Minister for General Affairs Office of the CCP Central Committee and Mme. Liu Yandong, Minister for the United Front Work under the CCP Central Committee, and after being edited and being revised by the Publishing House of the Central Party History and instruction. Some books about Hu Yaobang’s life will be “precious enough to be shelved” in the storage room as the party historical documents. Hu Yaobang’s image will be rebuilt by the party propaganda machine according to Hu Jingtao’s desire. The CCP is the master of liars who make up stories and twist the facts of history at their will.
On September 6, 2005, Premier Wen Jiabao declared shamelessly that the CCP would firmly promote the political democracy, including direct national election. Talking to British Prime Minister Tony Blair, he claimed the current system allowed direct elections at village level and he saw no reason why that could not be extended to townships and possibly upper levels in the future. The direct elections at village level began as a test in 1987, and most provinces were encouraged to elect village chiefs in late 1996.
However, until now the village committees of the CCP are still in operation, and the party secretary in the village is the real boss. It is still not certain if the village level democracy is successful or not, given the cruel suppression over the Guangdong Taishi villagers’ hunger strikes recently*. We may expect a township-level direct election, then county-level, province-level and nation-level, and for each level, a “testing” and “promotion” period of at least 5 years would be allowed.
As the Chinese people’s anger has accumulated for years and it may erupt like a volcano at any time, I don’t think we are patient enough to wait for another 16 years. Besides, the CCP party committees will still be there at each level of the governments. A democracy under the communist one-party system is ridiculous.
If the CCP is sincere in rehabilitating Hu Yaobang and plans to introduce democracy, it should publicize such a brave move in China and let the grassroots in China understand its real meaning.
However, it has never done this way. History tells us that the CCP has extremely exquisite skills in propaganda. In 2003, there were some rumours that Hu would carry out political reform but two years later, there are still no traces of political reform at all but a continuing persecution policy against dissidents.
Both Hu Jingtao and his rivals within the party may be aware that the death is knocking at the CCP’s door. Hu Jingtao is now trapped in a dilemma: if he continues to preach communism and impose severer suppression on the people, he would be overthrown by the people and by force. If he converts to democracy, he may be removed by Zeng Qinghong and Zeng’s military partners and other hardcore chiefs of the CCP.
The CCP’s doomsday is pending, and every move of the CCP may delay its last breath but it is only digging its own tomb deeper.
*Hoping to have a corrupt local official removed from office, residents in the small village of Taishi in the Guangdong Province started a peaceful sit-in and a hunger strike in early September. The government sent in 1000 riot troops with pressure hoses. According to reports, 48 people were arrested and many others were injured. To read about this event, see Riot Squad Attacks Peaceful Villagers in Guandong by Gao Ling at www.theepochtimes.com
