Wednesday 9 September 2009

Riots on rise as cadres at fault, magazine says

Outspoken article gives Beijing checklist to ease sweeping unrest

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Riots on rise as cadres at fault, magazine says

Outspoken article gives Beijing checklist to ease sweeping unrest

Ng Tze-wei
08 September 2009

The number of so-called mass incidents - or riots - on the mainland, particularly those involving more than 500 people, rose in the first half of this year for the first time since 2005, the authoritative Outlook magazine reported yesterday.

The report did not give specific figures, but comes amid heightened security in Xinjiang and measures to ensure Beijing is a fortress for National Day on October 1.

The Xinhua-affiliated magazine said maintaining security was an unprecedented challenge this year as the economy slowed and the country went through a series of sensitive dates and anniversaries, adding that new strategies were required.

A commonly cited figure for the number of riots in recent years is 80,000 a year, according to Chinese Academy of Science professor Yu Jianrong , a 10-fold jump from 1993.

Uneven development and wealth distribution, the lagging behind of social services and corruption all led to a “multiplication of possible sparks for social unrest, and a lowering of the threshold for a spark to turn into a flame”, the article said.

Internationally, although the changing global decision-making process was generally working in China’s favour, the challenges posed by different social systems and ideologies were actually increasing.

Since last year and the Beijing Olympics, “maintaining security” has been the focus of the central and local governments and an excuse for a series of clampdowns on dissidents, NGOs and lawyers.

But the number of riots has continued to rise and they have become more violent.

Since the ethnic clashes in Xinjiang in July alone, there have been at least two cases of steel workers protesting against the privatisation of their firms, and two cases of villagers storming chemical and oil plants protesting against lead poisoning and contamination of their drinking water.

Thousands of protesters were involved in each case, with the workers at state-owned Tonghua Iron and Steel Group in Jilin province killing an executive in charge of the privatisation process. In other protests, police cars were overturned and buildings set on fire.

With the celebrations for the 60th anniversary of the People’s Republic coming up, officials have every reason to be tense and there is little room for error. But the toughest challenge remains keeping the conflicts localised, according to the article. And this requires a change in attitude among local cadres, who came in for heavy criticism.

The article said some cadres were too concerned with making quick money and showed disregard for the long-term interests of the public.

Some did not pay enough attention to the petitioners and allowed causes to gain momentum, resulting in riots.

Some failed to admit their mistakes and turned too easily to the use of police and arrests, unnecessarily escalating the conflicts.

Others were not sensitive enough to the power of the new media and public opinion.

Local governments should stick to a “scientifically minded” mode of development, set up a stability assessment mechanism to detect any possible causes for conflicts, resolve conflicts at the root, pour more resources into petition handling and release information on protests in a timely fashion.

The article listed a string of common complaints: government use of farmland; demolition of city homes; privatisation of state-owned firms; miscarriages of justice; retired soldiers’ and labour disputes; and displeasure at education and health care systems.