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Wednesday, November 16, 2005

If You Believe That the Chinese Communist Party is a Monolithic, One-Headed Anachronism, Read This

10:45 AM

To only casual viewers of the new China, the announcement that the Party will rehabilitate the life and career of Hu Yaobang, a former Communist Party general secretary, some 16 years after his momentous death in the spring of 1989, might not register high on their political Richter Scale. But it should; it's a pretty big deal, folks, no matter how you slice and dice it.

Joseph Kahn of The New York Times has another "scoop" to hang from his journalistic totem. Below are the opening graphs and a link to an article you need to read.

China to Honor Ex-Leader Whose Death Sparked Students

By JOSEPH KAHN
Published: November 14, 2005

BEIJING, Nov. 14 - Despite strong internal opposition, China's Communist Party will officially restore later this week the reputation of a liberal-leaning party leader whose death in 1989 helped spark pro-democracy protests, according to people informed about the plans.

The party has not publicly honored the late leader, Hu Yaobang, since his death in April 1989 gave rise to student demonstrations in Tiananmen Square. Those protests, targeting corruption, inflation and political repression, persisted until the Chinese army violently suppressed them on June 4 of that year.

President Hu Jintao, early this year, decided to mark the 90th anniversary of Hu Yaobang's birth. Party observers said the president sought to soften his hard-line image and strengthen the Communist Youth League, his political base within the Communist Party.

The youth league was also considered the support network of the late Mr. Hu, who lost his position as Communist Party general secretary after a power struggle in 1987. The two Hus are not related.

While restoring the stature of the late Mr. Hu is unlikely to lead to a broad political opening soon - the party leadership has, after all, steadily tightened its grip over civil society and the media - it does provide a glimpse of the complex politicking that takes place among the ruling elite.

Continue reading at The New York Times.

10:45 AM / Editor / permalink 2 comments

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2 Comments:

That's today--The CCP mourned Hu Yaobang's death this morning--a perfect time when President Hu Jintao "happens" to be in Korea and "cannot" show up~~

By Jerry, at 2:52 PM

Dear Jerry,

If you had gone on to read Mr. Kahn's article you would know that President Hu being in Korea today and therefore unavailable to attend the ceremony was part of the political plan for the event.

Thanks for dropping in and taking the time to leave a comment.

Sincerely,

Joseph

By Joseph, at 4:48 PM