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Wednesday 31 December 2008
2008 a Year of Triumph and Tragedy for China
From a devastating earthquake to the Beijing Olympics, China witnessed a tumultuous year of triumph and tragedy in 2008 that sorely tested the Communist Party’s ability to manage.
BEIJING - From a devastating earthquake to the Beijing Olympics, China witnessed a tumultuous year of triumph and tragedy in 2008 that sorely tested the Communist Party’s ability to manage.
The worst anti-government violence in decades wracked the restive regions of Tibet and Xinjiang, freak snowstorms paralyzed the southeast and deliberately contaminated milk powder killed six infants and sickened nearly 300,000.
Through it all, the government remained firmly in charge, though the worsening economic outlook for 2009 may prove its toughest test yet.
Historically, the party has kept its grip on power through tight political restrictions and powerful security forces. Those remain, but increasingly it also draws support from a burgeoning patriotism and the government’s new, more human face.
Quick responses to crises such as the snowstorms, which stranded hundreds of thousands of train passengers in January, earned party leaders popular support and helped direct anger away from them and toward local officials.
That strategy has limitations, however, said Yang Fengchun, professor of political science at Peking University’s School of Government.
“The government simply acts as a firefighter but never moves forward to solve the underlying social and political problems,” Yang said.
Even as the country’s leaders celebrated the achievements of 30 years of economic reforms in December, their greatest concern was the uncertain outlook for continued job-creating growth. Economic turmoil and anger over a yawning wealth gap could lead to social unrest _ and ultimately challenges to Communist Party rule.
“When the economy slows down, this is the real crunch. This sharpens all the contradictions,” said Joseph Cheng, chairman of the Contemporary China Research Center at the City University of Hong Kong.
Ironically, Cheng said, the challenges may have actually strengthened party rule by reminding people of the need for a firm hand to avoid the political and social chaos that characterized much of the country’s 20th century history.
“The Chinese people see no alternative to Communist Party leadership at this stage,” he said.
China entered 2008 focused on staging a successful Olympics, the climax of more than a decade of vertiginous expectations and seven years of preparation.
The months before the August games were far from smooth, however.
The January snowstorms, which hit as millions of migrant workers were heading home for the Lunar New Year holiday, prompted Premier Wen Jiabao to make a personal inspection tour that included an extraordinary public apology for the government’s lack of preparation.
Riots broke out a month later in Tibet’s capital, Lhasa, spreading throughout the Tibetan areas of western China and prompting a massive security crackdown.
The tension moved overseas with demonstrators disrupting the Olympic torch relay. Those images, particularly an attempt to snatch the torch from a disabled Chinese athlete in Paris, stirred outrage among Chinese who protested outside local stores of the French company Carrefour.
The tone changed radically following the May 12 earthquake in Sichuan, a 7.9-magnitude temblor that left almost 90,000 dead or missing. The scale of the tragedy and outpouring of international aid and sympathy seemed to cool passions on both sides, while casting a more somber mood on the Olympics run-up.
Just four days before the Aug. 8 opening ceremony for the games, 16 paramilitary police were killed in an attack in the western region of Xinjiang. Beijing blamed separatist extremists and ratcheted-up security to levels approaching martial law.
The games themselves received widespread praise for efficient organization _ as well as grumbling about the oppressive security.
Chinese athletes topped the gold medal tally for the first time, sending the nation into paroxysms of pride. Those sentiments were boosted further when China staged its first-ever spacewalk in September.
A more somber reality reasserted itself the same month when a waste dump collapsed at an illegal mine, killing at least 260 people and forcing the resignation of a provincial governor.
Then came revelations of the contamination of milk powder with the industrial chemical melamine.
The scandal underscored China’s endemic problems with food safety, corporate malfeasance and lax government supervision. Recalls of Chinese dairy exports damaged the already tarnished China brand overseas, adding to the spreading economic gloom.
“At the end of the year,” Peking University’s Yang said, “the Chinese people are feeling anxious and unsafe.”
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2008 a Year of Triumph and Tragedy for China
CHRISTOPHER BODEEN, AP
31 December 2008
BEIJING - From a devastating earthquake to the Beijing Olympics, China witnessed a tumultuous year of triumph and tragedy in 2008 that sorely tested the Communist Party’s ability to manage.
The worst anti-government violence in decades wracked the restive regions of Tibet and Xinjiang, freak snowstorms paralyzed the southeast and deliberately contaminated milk powder killed six infants and sickened nearly 300,000.
Through it all, the government remained firmly in charge, though the worsening economic outlook for 2009 may prove its toughest test yet.
Historically, the party has kept its grip on power through tight political restrictions and powerful security forces. Those remain, but increasingly it also draws support from a burgeoning patriotism and the government’s new, more human face.
Quick responses to crises such as the snowstorms, which stranded hundreds of thousands of train passengers in January, earned party leaders popular support and helped direct anger away from them and toward local officials.
That strategy has limitations, however, said Yang Fengchun, professor of political science at Peking University’s School of Government.
“The government simply acts as a firefighter but never moves forward to solve the underlying social and political problems,” Yang said.
Even as the country’s leaders celebrated the achievements of 30 years of economic reforms in December, their greatest concern was the uncertain outlook for continued job-creating growth. Economic turmoil and anger over a yawning wealth gap could lead to social unrest _ and ultimately challenges to Communist Party rule.
“When the economy slows down, this is the real crunch. This sharpens all the contradictions,” said Joseph Cheng, chairman of the Contemporary China Research Center at the City University of Hong Kong.
Ironically, Cheng said, the challenges may have actually strengthened party rule by reminding people of the need for a firm hand to avoid the political and social chaos that characterized much of the country’s 20th century history.
“The Chinese people see no alternative to Communist Party leadership at this stage,” he said.
China entered 2008 focused on staging a successful Olympics, the climax of more than a decade of vertiginous expectations and seven years of preparation.
The months before the August games were far from smooth, however.
The January snowstorms, which hit as millions of migrant workers were heading home for the Lunar New Year holiday, prompted Premier Wen Jiabao to make a personal inspection tour that included an extraordinary public apology for the government’s lack of preparation.
Riots broke out a month later in Tibet’s capital, Lhasa, spreading throughout the Tibetan areas of western China and prompting a massive security crackdown.
The tension moved overseas with demonstrators disrupting the Olympic torch relay. Those images, particularly an attempt to snatch the torch from a disabled Chinese athlete in Paris, stirred outrage among Chinese who protested outside local stores of the French company Carrefour.
The tone changed radically following the May 12 earthquake in Sichuan, a 7.9-magnitude temblor that left almost 90,000 dead or missing. The scale of the tragedy and outpouring of international aid and sympathy seemed to cool passions on both sides, while casting a more somber mood on the Olympics run-up.
Just four days before the Aug. 8 opening ceremony for the games, 16 paramilitary police were killed in an attack in the western region of Xinjiang. Beijing blamed separatist extremists and ratcheted-up security to levels approaching martial law.
The games themselves received widespread praise for efficient organization _ as well as grumbling about the oppressive security.
Chinese athletes topped the gold medal tally for the first time, sending the nation into paroxysms of pride. Those sentiments were boosted further when China staged its first-ever spacewalk in September.
A more somber reality reasserted itself the same month when a waste dump collapsed at an illegal mine, killing at least 260 people and forcing the resignation of a provincial governor.
Then came revelations of the contamination of milk powder with the industrial chemical melamine.
The scandal underscored China’s endemic problems with food safety, corporate malfeasance and lax government supervision. Recalls of Chinese dairy exports damaged the already tarnished China brand overseas, adding to the spreading economic gloom.
“At the end of the year,” Peking University’s Yang said, “the Chinese people are feeling anxious and unsafe.”
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