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Friday, 27 March 2009
Congress chairman rejects calls for reform based on western models
Beijing flatly rejected calls for political reform yesterday, with its parliamentary chief insisting that China would not copy western models of democracy.
Congress chairman rejects calls for reform based on western models
Kristine Kwok 10 March 2009
Beijing flatly rejected calls for political reform yesterday, with its parliamentary chief insisting that China would not copy western models of democracy.
Wu Bangguo, chairman of the National People’s Congress, made the remarks as Beijing confronts mounting pressure for political reform 30 years after it embraced capitalism and 20 years after student-led pro-democracy protests in Tiananmen Square led to a bloody crackdown.
Mr. Wu told NPC deputies - who have gathered in Beijing for their nine-day annual session - that China would not go for “a system of multiple parties holding office in rotation”, “a system with the separation of the three powers” or a bicameral system.
“We must draw on the achievements of all cultures, including their political achievements,” he said. “But we will never simply copy the system of western countries.”
The mainland’s leaders have repeatedly said that the present political system - which they describe as “multiparty co-operation and political consultation under the Communist Party of China” - is most suited to the nation’s development.
But with the 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen crackdown approaching, critics have been renewing their calls for political reforms.
Since late last year, more than 8,000 mainland citizens and overseas Chinese of all stripes, ranging from intellectuals to workers and artists, have signed Charter 08, to demand political changes such as free elections and the separation of powers.
But a government crackdown has since ensued, with prominent dissident Liu Xiaobo, one of the document’s drafters, arrested and many other signatories harassed and interrogated by authorities.
Mr. Wu’s remarks yesterday were stronger than those in the speech he delivered for the same event last year. He stressed at length the differences between the congress systems in China and the west to bolster his argument why the one-party system best served the country.
In conclusion, Mr. Wu said: “The political-development path of socialism with Chinese characteristics is the only correct path that was chosen by the Chinese people under the leadership of the Communist Party of China.”
Jia Qinglin, chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, wrote in Seeking Truth magazine this year that the top political advisory body should firmly resist the “interference of wrong thinking” from western political systems.
Despite calls from rights groups and overseas experts for an independent judicial system, Mr. Wu said the NPC would still oversee the country’s courts and procuratorates “in exercising their judicial functions fairly”.
“The western model of a legal system cannot be copied mechanically in establishing our own,” he said.
The judicial system has attracted much criticism for its bias because of the huge influence exerted on it by the government. It has become a source of social discontent, adding to the central government’s burden of ensuring social stability.
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Congress chairman rejects calls for reform based on western models
Kristine Kwok
10 March 2009
Beijing flatly rejected calls for political reform yesterday, with its parliamentary chief insisting that China would not copy western models of democracy.
Wu Bangguo, chairman of the National People’s Congress, made the remarks as Beijing confronts mounting pressure for political reform 30 years after it embraced capitalism and 20 years after student-led pro-democracy protests in Tiananmen Square led to a bloody crackdown.
Mr. Wu told NPC deputies - who have gathered in Beijing for their nine-day annual session - that China would not go for “a system of multiple parties holding office in rotation”, “a system with the separation of the three powers” or a bicameral system.
“We must draw on the achievements of all cultures, including their political achievements,” he said. “But we will never simply copy the system of western countries.”
The mainland’s leaders have repeatedly said that the present political system - which they describe as “multiparty co-operation and political consultation under the Communist Party of China” - is most suited to the nation’s development.
But with the 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen crackdown approaching, critics have been renewing their calls for political reforms.
Since late last year, more than 8,000 mainland citizens and overseas Chinese of all stripes, ranging from intellectuals to workers and artists, have signed Charter 08, to demand political changes such as free elections and the separation of powers.
But a government crackdown has since ensued, with prominent dissident Liu Xiaobo, one of the document’s drafters, arrested and many other signatories harassed and interrogated by authorities.
Mr. Wu’s remarks yesterday were stronger than those in the speech he delivered for the same event last year. He stressed at length the differences between the congress systems in China and the west to bolster his argument why the one-party system best served the country.
In conclusion, Mr. Wu said: “The political-development path of socialism with Chinese characteristics is the only correct path that was chosen by the Chinese people under the leadership of the Communist Party of China.”
Jia Qinglin, chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, wrote in Seeking Truth magazine this year that the top political advisory body should firmly resist the “interference of wrong thinking” from western political systems.
Despite calls from rights groups and overseas experts for an independent judicial system, Mr. Wu said the NPC would still oversee the country’s courts and procuratorates “in exercising their judicial functions fairly”.
“The western model of a legal system cannot be copied mechanically in establishing our own,” he said.
The judicial system has attracted much criticism for its bias because of the huge influence exerted on it by the government. It has become a source of social discontent, adding to the central government’s burden of ensuring social stability.
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