Hiding in Words

Signs of Political Reform Since 1970’s

This is an interesting article introducing the signs of political reform since 1970’s. Here’s a brief introduction.

Original Title: 政治规则确立的30年 (in Chinese)
Original URI: http://www.douban.com/group/topic/4219342/

The 30 years since Reform and Opening Up has created a new political order in China. Several decisions and political arrangements made in these 30 years will influence this country in the 50 or 100 years to come.

To a single person, 30 years is too long a time that brings half a life away. Yet it is very short time for the political system to have a significant transition.

As our current political system does not have a constitutional ground, these unwritten rules shall be accepted as a conventional way of politics to ensure a peaceful development of this country.

In these 3 decades, the following rules has been or is being established and accepted:

1. Bottom line of political struggle: the loser won’t lose their life.
2. Civil officials shall govern, military power exits political spectrum.
3. Maximum tenure of political leadership is 10 years.
4. Rule of choosing a successor is set.
5. The power of Premier is on the rise.

No. 1: Bottom line of political struggle: the loser won’t lose their life.

This rule is set when the Gang of Four was crushed. In the history of political struggle of Communist Party, usually the underdog would lose their life. Some lucky people could keep their life on exile or banishment (e.g. Lin Biao, Liu Shaoqi, etc.) However, the Gang of Four were all Politburo Standing Committee members, and they were only sentenced to jail instead of being killed after they’d totally lost the political combat.

This doesn’t seem a significant change, but it is really important for the political system. This gives a message that political struggle no longer matters that much as before, it is no longer something so important as to be linked to one’s life. Such message was confirmed on the 40’s anniversary of the foundation of China PR (1989). It was yet again clarified that you won’t lose your life even if you made a severe “political mistake”. (People did die in 1989 on the Square, however political figures [e.g. Zhao Ziyang] was put in house arrest instead of killed.)

Therefore the armed clashes or assassination that was previously possible is no longer a regular strategy. Politics no longer means blood, war or coup d’état. This is a foundation of peaceful transfer of political power.

No. 2 Civil officials shall govern, military power exits political spectrum.

Army controled by State government is the next step. For now, it is more important to contain its power by any means. Currently there is no army presence in Politburo, and the Army is controlled military committee of Communist Party. In retrospect, the Communist Party used to boast it’s a “regime of guns”, power of military forces used to be beyond the Party itself. An army under control of civil officials (though from Communist Party) is a remarkable development per se.

No. 3 Maximum tenure of political leadership is 10 years.

So there wouldn’t be another dictator like Mao.

No. 4 Rules of choosing successor is set.

Hu Jintao was appointed as a successor of Jiang Zemin by Deng Xiaoping when he was alive. And Xi Jinping, who is expected to be the next president (and party boss), is believed to be a result of compromise between factions in the Communist Party.

In short, the 3rd leader would have been decided in the time of the 1st leader, and 4th would have been decided in the time of the 2nd leader. If this were in US, Barack Obama would have been chosen during Bill Clinton’s Administration, and G. W. Bush would have been appointed during his father’s presidency. Well, this is far from anything like democracy, but at least there won’t be coup d’état or assassination or another cultural revolution any more.

No. 5 The power of Premier is on the rise.

China’s Constitution defines Premier as the leader of Administration (State Council), and President is only a symbolic position. Now, the Premier Wen Jiabao is more and more exposed to the public and appears to be much more powerful than before. It is expected that Premier be more influential and powerful in the coming years.

How do you like Obama being elected?

I asked my roommate this question, and she answered in a tone of total suspecion “I don’t believe it is true”. And she went on and explained, “America only elected a black person only to show ‘equality’. I don’t think this guy will ever have any real power.”

A blogger Hecaitou, whose blog has a very wide readership among Chinese people, also wrote on his blog that:

If every race create an image of God in their color, this year it happens that a black God is on duty.

A reader also commented on one of my previous Chinese blog post on campaigning that “Maybe the next president has already been decided, and the whole campaign and election thing is only a planned show.”

Maybe some of these were just kidding, but I really wondered why so many people have suspicion whether an election that has changed the world (indeed) is true. In this country, so many people refuse to talk about politics (event to think about it at all), subconciously doubt anything that looks slightly idealistic (for example an idealistic & passionate candidate being elected because people are moved by him rather than only because of his African-descent). And many people just think some natural things are too good to be true.

I really wondered why and didn’t came across an answer to this until I read what Barack Obama wrote in his book “the Audacity of Hope”:

It signaled a cynicism not simply with politics but with the very notion of a public life, a cynicism that … had been nourished by a generation of broken promises.

This is an answer how he won the election as well as why are there so many politically cynical people here in China: how could you believe all campaigning, running, debating is nothing but a well-planned show, how could you believe that a president of such a big country as USA is really elected by ordinary people like the next door grandpa or downstairs grocer when your kid die because of chemical-tainted milk-powder and you can’t even resort to any court for justice?

We have the vote, but not really

Chuku wrote on Nov. 7 that he, too, voted. Not for American presidential though.

As he put it, this is the fist time ever to vote in his life. He didn’t vote in the 27 long years spent in China, and he was (astonishingly) entitled to vote for local officials in Finland despite that he is not yet a Finn national. And he’ll be able to elect the President when he obtain Finn citizenship. It is amazingly open that a non-national could even be possible to vote. Foreigners are not allowed to vote in the US, nor contributing. Maybe Nordic countries are just more democratic.

To be frank, I have only voted for once in my life, when I was still studying in a university in Beijing. At that time the Haidian District Congress (the People’s Congress of Representatives) needed to begin a new term, and one Rep will be elected from my constituency (my university). The election began in a not-special-at-all afternoon, all the news about the election and instructions how to vote were disclosed only less than a week before. There was no time for any campaigning or public appearance of the candidates at all, even if they really intended to. Actually no one took the election seriously including the most likely party-designated candidates themselves.

All three candidates were Communist Party members (as most people are in China). They were only briefly introduced by less than 3-line text of their background. I have to say, all three looked all the same: party members, professors, strangers. I really wanted to cast a meaningful vote, regretfully, I wasn’t able to.

Oops, skin color matters

When I was eating out with my friend, who is an African European, we talked about “white Europeans often eat beef that is not thoroughly cooked, sometimes still with blood in it.” And I translated to another guy like “Europeans eat beef that is not well cooked.”

Here I subconsciously and mistakenly thought Europeans are WHITE. And my friend said “so I am not usually considered a European.”

Ummm, say if I was in Europe or America for years and even if I was well Europeanized or Americanized, I would still be referred to as an “Asian.” They call this kind of people “bananas” in America, because they are as “white” as the American people and their skin is yellow.

But my friend told me he would be referred to as “the black”, instead of “an African.”

I have to admit that Chinese people are actually a little tiny bit … racist, although this word is too strong. Most people would “naturally” feel the white are “higher” than “the Asians” and sometimes they don’t think the black people are as good. But most times this tendency is very subtle and often ignored. It embarrasses me when people tell unkind jokes about foreigners and I have to laugh with them to be polite.

I guess this is because China is not internationalized enough. And I hope things might be better as time goes on and as China develops.