Friday, 17 April 2009
Beijing-backed party boss too powerful for Guangdong clique
The ongoing anti-corruption storm in Guangdong, which has led to the downfall of several high-ranking officials, shows the political clout and determination of provincial Communist Party secretary Wang Yang to break up entrenched local interests and push forward his reform ideas, political analysts say.
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Beijing-backed party boss too powerful for Guangdong clique
Staff Reporters
17 April 2009
The ongoing anti-corruption storm in Guangdong, which has led to the downfall of several high-ranking officials, shows the political clout and determination of provincial Communist Party secretary Wang Yang to break up entrenched local interests and push forward his reform ideas, political analysts say.
In the past six months, many officials with powerful connections in Guangdong have been placed under shuanggui - a form of Communist Party discipline - such as top political adviser Chen Shaoji, former top graft fighter Wang Huayuan and former provincial Public Security Bureau deputy head Zheng Shaodong.
The Guangdong-based analysts said the fall of the officials not only represented a victory against graft, but was also a clear indication that Mr. Wang enjoys Beijing’s full backing. Zhu Jianguo, a Shenzhen-based independent political observer, said there had been a political battle between Mr. Wang and the Guangdong clique of officials. And Mr. Wang had won, Mr. Zhu said.
“Many local officials disagreed with Mr. Wang’s campaign to eliminate labour-intensive industries, which has led to the recent large number of closures of Guangdong enterprises that once contributed greatly to make the province the richest on the mainland,” he said.
“From what I know, during the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference in March, many Guangdong-based political advisers close to local enterprises criticised Mr. Wang’s campaign to eliminate labour-intensive industries.
“But now Chen Shaoji, one of the senior ‘Guangdong gang’ members and the provincial top political adviser, has been brought down.”
Another analyst said it was always difficult to handle corrupt high-ranking officials through the legal system because they could use their political resources to cover their crimes.
It was also difficult for Mr. Wang, who arrived in Guangdong less than two years ago, to make such a significant decision by himself to detain a powerful local figure, he said.
“Without support from Beijing, I do not believe Mr. Wang could have done this because you must understand how powerful Chen used to be in the province,” he said.
Speculation last year suggested Mr. Wang’s views were at loggerheads with the central government’s.
When Premier Wen Jiabao asked Guangdong officials to help small and medium-sized enterprises, Mr. Wang continued to promote his plan to phase out low-end manufacturers.
But the analyst said the fact that it took the central government less than six months to pass the Pearl River Delta (PRD) development guideline, first raised by Mr. Wang, showed the assumption was incorrect.
He said compared to another regional development blueprint - the pan-PRD plan raised by former Guangdong party boss Zhang Dejiang in 2004 - Mr. Wang’s plan had moved much faster.
“We all know that the central government had never put the pan-PRD plan into the national development guideline,” he said.
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