| Current edition | Previous edition | News Index | Contents |

---"Focused Coverage Informed Perspectives"---Thu, Sep 18, 1997 edition

National Congress Wrap Up newspapers declare Jiang the winner

Also in this edition . . . 1: who's who in the leadership 2: assessing China's new reforms 3: test of Hong Kong constitution 4: Three Gorges dam moving forward 5: HK population swells 6: North Korea update

NATIONAL CONGRESS

( President Jiang Toasts Victory at Communist Party Congress ) The National Congress concluded its session today. As one might gather, political events of this kind are carefully choreographed drama, written to signal and make changes in policy and direction. Most notable, perhaps, has been the new round of reforms targeting the state-owned economy. But since making policy is the responsibility of these people, the shows likewise tell the stories of their rise and fall. The congress served to stage a realignment of the top ranks, displacing such notable leaders as Qiao Shi, the 72-year old chairman of the country's parliament, from the all-powerful Politburo Standing Committee. Gone too are general Liu Huaqing and Liang Baibing. And in their passing we might read alternate meanings into Jiang's words, as he closed the congress, declaring it a 'victorious' success. Speaking of the misfortunes of Mr Qiao et al., "Western diplomats said their abrupt departures from the ranks of China's communist elite indicated that Jiang had firmly consolidated his grip on power since the death last February of his mentor Deng," Reuters writes. ( Front-row alliance gains new strength as Qiao fades away ) Premier Li Peng, whose term in office will end in March, is thought by some to become Qiao Shi's replacement in the Parliament, writes Reuters, and this itself would indicate a deal has been made between Jiang and Li, reports the Hong Kong Standard. For his part Li gains the chairmanship of the parliament, in return for keeping at bay the various factions which might be adverse to the bold reforms in the state-owned sector. New leadership: Ingraining of Shanghai gang ensures loyalty and focus of Jiang's tenure ( Younger political elite tipped to support Jiang ) The South China Morning Post discusses the leadership changes. With Qiao Shi's out turning comes the ingraining of Jiang Zemin's Shanghai gang---younger, technocratic and politically savvy, the new group will be more loyal to Jiang. They will ascend to the ranks of the Central Committee. Zeng Qinghong, 58, runs the "powerful General Office of the Central Committee," reports the paper, and is considered to be Jiang's chief speech writer, strategist and confidant. Xu Kuangdi, 59, is Shanghai's mayor. As the paper writes, Mr Xu is "an urbane, Swedish and English speaking technocrat who is highly respected by Western investors won a Central Committee seat." Chen Zhili, 54, is Shanghai's former deputy party chief. Ms Chen now serves as party secretary of the State Education Commission. "She has long been regarded as a particular Jiang favourite," writes the paper. Also included on the list is Dai Xianglong, 52, Central Bank Governor. He has been credited with using tight monetary polices to reign in inflation. Another memner, Zhou Zhengqing, is the country's chief stock regulator. "Mr Jiang's main allies in the military, Defence Minister General Chi Haotian and vice-chairman of the Central Military Commission Zhang Wannian, retained their positions," the paper writes. Reform: And the economists say . . . ( IMF/World Bank Leaders Praise Congress Moves ) Representatives of the International Monetary Fund have stamped their approval on the pronouncements concerning reforms for the state-owned sector. ( Beijing 'can beat poverty before 2020' ) Praising the recently announced reforms, the World Bank says Beijing could alleviate poverty on the mainland by the year 2020. But the bank cautions: reductions in poverty would be contingent on increasing economic reforms and reducing growing inequalities, reports the South China Morning Post. "But while China may realize the importance of reforms, it is how to implement the reforms effectively that will be most important," the paper quotes Yukon Huang, the bank's newly appointed director for China. Reform: 'Presidents Bill Clinton, Boris Yeltsin and Jiang Zemin are each driving down a road and their three cars approach an intersection . . . ' ( Tung Says China Has No Expansionist Designs ) One might laud the reforms last week for what they would seem to signal, albeit tacitly, that China is moving toward capitalism---never mind that 'socialism' is still a salient concept and the party is still a Communist one. New York Times Beijing correspondent Seth Faison warns his readers in the United States: "But woe to anyone who thinks that means that China will make a seamless transition to a capitalist economy anytime soon. Jiang may have turned right, but his car is still far behind the others, and his road is full of deep potholes. "A common mistake that outsiders, particularly foreign investors, make in China is to think that ideology and the old Communist way of doing things have disappeared. Even though few people here still believe in Marxism-Leninism as an economic system, nearly 50 years of Communist Party rule has left a heavy legacy of dilapidated factories, millions of poorly trained workers and heavy-handed bureaucrats. "The long-term implications of the party's plans to convert ownership from state control are aggressively capitalist, in that they seem destined to draw corporate decision-making ever more toward what makes sense for business, not for the government." Mr Faison's remarks inject a sense of reality into the 'China' discourse in which people would wish to reduce the complex to the banal and project the triumph of one ideology over another. ( Economic Scene: Is China's Latest Move to Capitalism Real? ) compare Mr Faison's article with a current one from the New York Times in which the very question---has China gone 'Capitalistic'---has been taken up. (Note: the New York Times on-line edition is free, but requires that users register a name and password, and therefore first-time users should first introduce themselves on the Times registration page.)

HONG KONG

Legal: constitutional test case over HKSAR autonomy ( Clamp on migrant children 'abuse of power' ) Senior Counsel Denis Chang Khen-lee told a judge today, government legislation designed to clamp down on illegal immigration has breached the constitution, impinged on these immigrants rights, and surrendered the territories autonomy, reports the South China Morning Post. Mr Chang's challenge hinges on the immigrant's right to abode in the territory, and the case is expected to go to the Court of Appeal. At issue is legislation enacted on July 10 by the provisional legislature requiring immigrant children from the mainland who had come to the territory to live with parents to attain certificates from the government before their immigration status would be determined. The act was back-dated to July 1, coinciding with the territories handover to Chinese sovereignty. The paper writes, "Mr Chang said the laws, backdated to July 1, were an extreme measure creating 'legal fiction' and seeking to turn permanent residents into illegal immigrants." Mr Chang said, "The very essence of the right of abode has been retrospectively taken away." "It is not permissible to use immigration legislation as a means of correcting perceived social problems occasioned by permanent residents asserting their constitutional right. "It is an abuse of the legislative power conferred on the HKSAR as regards immigration matters and, as such, is unconstitutional." Right of Abode ( The rights at issue ) The Right of Abode was incorporated into the constitution in 1987, reports the South China Morning Post. It states that a permanent resident has: The right to land in Hong Kong; The right not to be subject to any condition of stay; The right not to be subject to a deportation order; The right not to be subject to a removal order

GEOGRAPHY

Yangzi river: ( China Makes Final Moves to Block Yangzi River ) Work on the mammoth and controversial Three Gorges Dam project is entering the final stage before the Yangzi river will be blocked to build the actual dams, reports Inside China, itself re-printing a Reuters dispatch. Hong Kong: ( Population grows to 6.5m ) The territories population reached 6.5 million, up by over 190,000 since the middle of last year. The increase has been attributed to an influx of emigrants returning home and job-seeking ex-patriots, reports the South China Morning Post. The areticle analyzes the numbers in more detail.

NORTH KOREA

Policy: ( Lake Stresses Soft-Landing for North; Former Top U.S. Security Adviser Points to Danger of Collapse ) Former National security Advisor Anthony Lake spoke before an audience at the Institute for Global Economics yesterday and said a policy should be pursued to bring north Korea to a soft-landing. Analysis: ( North Korea's Economy Analyzed Through Its Foreign Trade ) Professor Sungwoo Kim of Northeastern University in Boston analyzes North Korea's economy through statistics on its foreign trade. He writes: "A reasonably accurate assessment of North Korea's economy is becoming increasingly important in order to prepare for the smooth integration of South and North Korean economies at their eventual reunification. Without such preparations, almost catastrophic ruin of both economies may ensue after unification.2 At present, the only way to gauge North Korea's economy with reasonable accuracy and objectivity is through an analysis of its foreign trade. " ". . . With these data, this paper analyzes North Korea's economic policy indirectly through its foreign trade for the last sixteen years, from 1980 to 1995. Special emphasis is paid to annual changes in commodity mix and trade partners in order to ascertain the extent of North Korea's export promotion and import substitution policies."

Previous issue | Next issue

---