| Many of the new buildings in Tianjin feature a scale model of the Binhai New Area, which China is developing to be its next economic growth engine after Shenzen and Shanghai Pudong New Area. PHOTO BY THE MANILA TIMES |
BEIJING: Despite the absence of free elections, media independent of the government, and even social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter, democracy would be essential to China’s future, a high-ranking official said.
But the future political reforms that China would have would be democracy with Chinese characteristics, Li Zhongjie recently told visiting Asian and African journalists that included a representative from The Manila Times. Li is deputy head of the History Research Center of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, a vice-ministerial level position.
Speaking through an interpreter, Li said that over the years China has had to tweak political ideologies to fit the realities in his country.
In the past, for example, the Chinese leaders did not really understand socialism, Li explained. He added that the popular notion was that raising three ducks was socialism, but raising five ducks was capitalism.
His views seemed to be echo the late Deng Xiaoping, the leader who opened up China to the world.
Referring to which political ideology communist China would practice, Deng said in 1961 that “[I] do not care if the cat is black or white. What matters is that it catches mice.”
Li told the visiting journalists that people could not learn such concepts exclusively from books.
China’s communist party believes that without democracy, there would be no socialism, he said. But how exactly democracy would take shape in China needed careful thought and planning, the vice minister added.
“We believe that democracy in China would develop,” he said.
He acknowledged that Western-style democracy – which allows citizens to elect their leaders directly and permits people to speak against their government without fear of reprisals – offered benefits. But, he added, there were also negative aspects of that democracy, such as political infighting and even gridlock.
Media Chinese style
There is no political gridlock in China, where the Communist Party chooses its leaders every five years.
The government, also through the party, controls the media. The party even owns its own paper, the People’s Daily, a media group that owns 26 newspapers and magazines.
The People’s Daily, which hosted the China visit of the foreign journalists, is considered the most influential publication in China that Chinese follow because they said it carried information that they consider important to their daily lives.
As the organ of the communist party, the newspaper bears the responsibility of communicating the government’s policies, said He Chongyuan, who also spoke through an interpreter. He is vice president of the People’s Daily, a rank that is also equivalent to a vice minister.
The newspaper’s responsibility to the party was balanced with a need to make the voice of ordinary people heard, He explained. But the vice minister added that the paper would not publish reports that would create “turbulence.”
“Media should not stir social instability,” He told the visiting journalists. He said later, “For China, stability is of paramount importance.”
Despite that responsibility, the media in China were free, he insisted. Chinese media was allowed to criticize the government, and in fact, there was already too much criticism, particularly on the local government-owned television network, he added.
Covering corruption
Like the Western press, Chinese media were also vigilant against graft and corruption in government.
Xue Xiangqun, an editor of Shaanxi Daily, said journalists at his paper take their watchdog role seriously.
At 71 years old, Shaanxi Daily is one of the oldest newspapers in China. But like other newspapers in China, this daily based in the historic city of Xi’an is managed by the Communist Party.
Even with party oversight, Xue said that his paper was serious in reporting about corruption, which they see as inimical to the people’s interests.
For instance, the editor added, Shaanxi Daily was vigilant about government expenditures and has even reported against allegedly anomalous conduct of a ranking provincial official. Xue explained that such moves were needed to bolster their readers’ confidence in their newspaper.
He also believed that public officials have an obligation to listen to the Chinese people’s gripes and concerns, and that Chinese newspapers have a role to play in that.
Some senior editors of the Global Times, the English-language paper of the People’s Daily group, said that the Chinese could be vocal about their gripes against government and that many such sentiments were vented online – on Chinese versions of Facebook.
The estimates of the number of Internet users in China range from 400 million to 500 million – but using social networking sites and even YouTube remains prohibited.
Vice Minister Li acknowledged that the Internet could bring opportunities and could facilitate communications. But the Internet also has a dark side, because it could be used to perpetrate crimes, spread rumors and malign people, he said.
China may have other reasons for fearing social networking sites. Facebook and Twitter were famous for rallying protesters in the “Arab Spring,” which has already toppled three leaders in the Middle East.
Breaking the so-called Great Firewall of China, among other things such as coping with the global financial crisis, was one of major challenges inherent in bringing about democratic reforms, Li told the visiting journalists.
Li said that whatever political system China embraces, the purpose of their government would remain the same – to make their country stronger and to make their people prosperous.
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