Hu, Wen need to act quickly on China's political reforms

On Monday, Sept. 6, Shenzhen celebrated the 30th anniversary in grand style, with Chinese President Hu Jintao complimenting the city on its achievements in economic reform and calling on it to continue playing its role as a forerunner, including in political reform.

The anniversary is providing the occasion for renewed discussion of the need for political reform in the country, a very sensitive subject.

While China has made great strides in economic development in the last 30 years and is now the world's second largest economy, this has not been matched by similar progress in political reforms, largely because the ruling Communist party is fearful of instability and desires to ensure its own monopoly of power.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, in a speech in the city late last month, made a strong pitch for political reforms, warning that China “may lose what it has already achieved through economic restructuring” in the absence of similar political restructuring.

While Hu, in his Shenzhen speech, did not address the need for political reform in the country, he went to some length to discuss what kinds of political reforms ought to be initiated by Shenzhen, including ensuring that citizens have the right to be informed, to participate in governance, to be heard and to monitor the government.

The renewed talk of political reform has led to a burst of optimism about democratization in the country. The Century Weekly, for example, published an editorial headlined “Wait's Over for Political Reform in China.”

“China's political system is increasingly at odds with its economy,” the editorial said. “It also not only contradicts the Communist Party's decision to undertake reform, but disregards the will of the people.”

But Century Weekly may well be too optimistic. While there seems to be general agreement on the need for political reform, little is being done on a practical level.

Three years ago, at the 17th party congress, the same themes were heard in the report that Hu, who is also the party's general secretary, delivered.

Hu talked then about the need to develop “socialist democracy” and promised: “On the basis of ensuring the people's position as masters of the country, we will expand socialist democracy [and] build a socialist country under the rule of law.”

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