Public, officials united in China's new reform era
- By Zhu Jianrong
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E-mail China.org.cn, August 31, 2012
China confirms its national development strategy at a political level through the 5-year National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC). Minor adjustments to the implementation of the strategy are then made via the annual National People's Congress (NPC) and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC). By following this formula, China ensures that a sound mechanism is in place to properly handle the relationship between strategy and tactics.
By introducing the cadre age limit system and cadre tenure system, China has also maintained both the stability and continuity of policy by strengthening the relationship between social happiness and the performance of officials.
Two decades ago, the performance of local officials was evaluated either by GDP growth or the size of foreign investments, which explains why officials at that time were so interested in attracting investment and building roads. Today's new criteria for assessing the performance of local officials, namely the citizen's happiness index and environment protection, will encourage them to attach more importance to social development and people's well-being.
In line with the basic tenet of Marxism, which states that "the economic base determines the superstructure", China has continuously ensured that the pursuit of economic development, improving people's well-being and guaranteeing democracy are its top priorities. China has also firmly promoted the reform of its political system in accordance with practical conditions. The philosophy of gradual advancement has become the most powerful guarantee of social democracy and political democracy, and this is a distinctive characteristic of China's political system.
In recent years, numerous campaigns have sprung up in China seeking to safeguard people's rights. This has led to concern in some quarters that such campaigns could result in political and social turmoil. However, I believe that these phenomena are symbols of China's social progress: Economic and social development has increased people's awareness of, and interest in safeguarding their rights. It is therefore natural that the political reforms advanced by China's high-level leaders have ushered in an era of interaction between the public and officials.
I noted that President Hu Jintao stressed the importance of political reform and the promotion of democracy in a speech he gave in July at the opening session of a workshop for ministerial officials and provincial heads. After the 18th CPC National Congress, China's political reform will shift its focus to the promotion of democracy as well as the process of government-public interaction. In doing so, China will courageously face and solve problems in various sectors, especially political and social, both of which are of particular public concern.
Since the beginning of the 21st century, China has continuously advanced political reforms in two tiers: "Intra-party democracy" and "grassroots democracy". The reforms stemming from these two tiers will become integrated during the 18th CPC National Congress. It is to be hoped that over the course of the next decade, China will usher in a new era during which political, social and economic reforms are advanced thanks to the concerted efforts of both government officials and the public. The signs so far are promising indeed.
Zhu Jianrong is a professor of the Toyo Gakuen University and a member of the Society of Chinese Professors in Japan.
The article is translated by Zhang Ming'ai.
Opinion articles reflect the views of their authors, not necessarily those of China.org.cn.
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