Shenzhen - after money comes politics
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As Shenzhen observes the 30th anniversary of becoming the nation's first special economic zone today, expectation is high that this innovative city will also pave the path for political reform that will match its economic achievements.
Experts say that Shenzhen is poised to set an example for the rest of the country to follow since economics is closely tied to politics.
"The central government needs a place to experiment with such reform policies before expanding them nationwide, just like they did for eco-nomic reform 30 years ago," said Li Luoli, deputy secretary-general of China Development Institute, a Shenzhen-based think-tank that advises the government.
"Issues like the income distribution system reform, corruption, democratic and law-based government construction are among the top issues of political reform," Li added.
Premier Wen Jiabao, who was in Shenzhen during a study tour last weekend, said that without political changes, the nation risks losing its record economic achievements.
Even for special economic zones like Shenzhen, political reform won't come easy since the central government has not issued clear guidelines or a specific timetable to follow.
However, among government officials and academics, a consensus is building that China should promote political reform through a progressive method instead of forcing it on the country in just a short time.
Yu Keping, deputy director at the Compilation and Translation Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, who promoted the theory of "incremental democracy," said that sudden changes in the political system is impossible, but breakthroughs will be seen from time to time in certain segments of society.
Li said some outstanding questions include how to balance the relationship between law-based governance and the leadership of the CPC as well as how to create a scientific system for the public and media to supervise government and the Party's power.
In recent years, Shenzhen has developed a reputation for administrative reform that included a downsizing plan in 2009 that successfully slashed the city's government departments from 46 to 31.
The plan also resulted in a 31 percent reduction of the workforce in government agencies.
"However, all these reforms did not break through the political system, which is much less than what we had expected after the 17th National Congress of the CPC met in 2007 and called for further democratic reform," said Bai Zhili, a professor at the School of Government, Peking University.
"Enhancement of the People Congress's power guaranteed by the Constitution, and a more advanced election system for Congress members, are things Shenzhen can try in its pilot reform program," Bai added.
Bai felt that Shenzhen is ready for further political reform considering its economic achievements and social stability. Also, Shenzhen citizens tend to embrace reform since they helped build up a well-organized civil society over the last three decades.
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