[Marxism] "We're going down an evil road"

[Louis Proyect]

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-china18jul18,0,6811467.story?coll=la-home-center

Letter accuses China's party of drift
The 17 signatories, ex-officials and academics, say policies make a 
mockery of Marxism.
By Mark Magnier, Times Staff Writer

July 18, 2007

BEIJING — A rare open letter signed by 17 former top officials and 
conservative Marxist scholars ahead of a key party meeting accuses 
China's top leaders of steering the country in the wrong direction, 
pandering to foreigners, betraying the workers' revolution and 
jeopardizing social stability.

"We're going down an evil road," says the letter on the website 
http://www.maoflag.net . "The whole country is at a most precarious time."

The challenge is unusual because of the importance of its signatories 
and its timing before this fall's party congress, an event held every 
five years and a key date on the political calendar.

Most public dissent in China generally comes from the beleaguered ranks 
of human rights activists and minority religious groups seeking to 
reduce the Communist Party's power. By contrast, those who affixed their 
names to this document included former government ministers, a former 
ambassador to Russia, ex-army officers and academics from elite 
universities and think tanks. And their emphasis was on restoring party 
control of an economy that has moved rapidly toward capitalist practices 
in recent years.

The letter provides an unusual public view of ideological differences 
within the party, which generally tries to present a unified front.

"This is probably the first time so many high-ranking people have spoken 
out like this," said He Husheng, a professor of party history at 
People's University. "The Central Committee is surely not happy at their 
behavior."

The policies advocated by those signing the letter include reversing a 
law passed this year that allows private ownership of property, 
abandoning rules that allow entrepreneurs to join the Communist Party, 
imposing sharp restrictions on foreign investment, putting an end to 
privatization of state assets and placing a renewed emphasis on Marxist 
campaigns and education.

The party's focus on economic liberalization has led to a dangerous mix 
of widespread corruption, unemployment, a growing wealth gap and 
potential social unrest, the letter's authors argue.

If China continues down this path, the letter says, the country will 
soon "have its own Boris Yeltsin" and "the demise of the party and 
country would loom."

The signatories can expect a call from propaganda officials "strongly 
suggesting" they delete their letter, said He, the party history 
professor. If they don't agree, it will be deleted for them, he added.

Indeed, by Tuesday afternoon the website appeared to be blocked, with a 
"Service Unavailable" notice displayed on the otherwise blank page, a 
fate more often reserved for websites sponsored by human rights 
activists than party stalwarts.

The seven-page letter appeared on the website late last week, about two 
weeks after a key speech by President Hu Jintao that appeared to be 
aimed at silencing critics within the party. The timing suggests that 
significant differences remain as party leaders try to unify their ranks 
behind Hu's policies, which have attempted to open up China's economy 
while maintaining control of the political system.

"This shows that the disagreement within the party over reform is pretty 
big and perhaps getting bigger," said Wang Yukai, a professor at the 
National School of Administration in Beijing. "This kind of open letter 
will put quite some pressure on our leaders and only have negative 
effects on proper decisions."

The letter, addressed to Hu and the party's Central Committee, targets 
in particular capitalists and foreigners who have flourished under 
policies that the signatories say have eroded socialism, equality and 
fairness.

"Party secretaries have become capitalists, and capitalists have joined 
the party," the letter says. "Foreign corporations are plundering 
domestic markets and crushing our national economy." The signatories 
also urged competitive internal elections for central party members and 
the party secretary, a sign of the group's displeasure with Hu's leadership.

The views expressed in the letter speak to a constituency that has seen 
its power diminish under China's ferocious economic growth, rapid social 
change and growing diversity. The China Daily reported Tuesday that 
almost 3 million of the party's 72.4 million members now work in private 
business, up from almost none a few years ago.

In addition to facing dissent from conservatives over economic changes, 
Hu has come under fire from liberals who have pushed for a more open 
political system. Those views were aired in a cover story in the latest 
issue of the liberal journal Yanhuang Chunqiu, which roughly translates 
as History of the Chinese People. It argued that though China has 
reformed economically, it continues to drag its heels on important 
political reforms outlined by paramount leader Deng Xiaoping in the 
1980s. These include reducing the excessive power of the party and 
ending its overarching grip on the government.

Some analysts denied that such articles were indications of ideological 
differences in party ranks, arguing instead that the diversity of 
opinion underscored changes afoot in China.

"This is not significant at all," said Liu Zhiguang, a professor at 
Peking University's School of Marxism and Leninism. "This shows that 
different opinions can coexist, or maybe that our leaders are just 
becoming smarter."

Officially, China has no lobbyists, nor does its monopoly political 
party consider lightly any outsiders who attempt to influence its 
decisions. The Chinese Communist Party has traditionally handed down 
policies fully formed, in keeping with its preferred image as an 
all-knowing, unified, paternalistic organization.

As China has become a more diverse society, and the Internet has made 
censorship harder, however, the leadership has been forced increasingly 
to contend with, respond to and adapt to public opinion.

Experts said the 17 signatories had sought to influence top leaders 
through internal party channels, but they were rebuffed and, in 
frustration, decided to go public.

The letter by itself is unlikely to alter party ideology, which if 
anything has become more rigid in recent years as a bulwark against 
unsettling social change, they said. But it could intensify divisions.

"These guys want to turn back the clock, but that's impossible," said 
Wang of the National School of Administration.

"I wouldn't say they're bad people. But we must move forward. Such 
outdated opinions are a leftist tumor."

mark.magnier at latimes.com

Yin Lijin in The Times' Beijing Bureau contributed to this report.