news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4165209.stm
Printable version China's leader shows his stripes By Tim Luard When Hu Jintao became head of China's ruling Communist Party in late 2002 , the question on everyone's lips was "Who is Hu?" Even seasoned observers could barely dis tinguish him from the other leaders who lined up in business suits besid e him as the new Standing Committee of the Politburo. Chinese President Hu Jintao waves to photographers, 19/01/05 Mr Hu is beginning to seem more hardline than he first appeared Some believed Mr Hu's lack of experience, charisma and factional support meant he would remain firmly under the thumb of the man he was replacing , Jiang Zemin. Others, pointing to reforms he had reportedly made as head of the Communi st Youth Corps, said he was a dark horse who could turn out to be China' s Gorbachev - he might do for politics what Mr Jiang and before him Deng Xiaoping had done for the economy, and finally free the world's next su perpower from its Leninist straitjacket. More than two years on, Mr Hu has proved himself to be more tiger than ho rse, taking on Mr Jiang and pushing him aside, then showing his true pol itical colours by cracking down on dissent and squaring up fiercely to T aiwan. Mr Jiang retired from his last post, as head of the army, in September 20 04, leaving Mr Hu as highest authority in all three branches of power - party, state and military. A new campaign against democracy activists and other critics of the gover nment has now made discussion of leadership issues inside China more sen sitive than ever. After the resignation of his rival he is more powerful than before. And a pparently he wants to be even more powerful Liu Junning, Chinese Cultural Research Institute But one leading liberal intellectual who agreed to talk to the BBC said M r Hu had already proved himself "more fundamentalistic" than either of h is two predecessors. "He is a very determined communist leader," said Liu Junning of the Chine se Cultural Research Institute. "After the resignation of his rival he is more powerful than before. Strengthening his hand As evidence of this, Mr Liu pointed to a series of recent political and m ilitary reshuffles as well as the current clampdown on criticism. The new appointments - at least one of them involving a former member of the Youth Corps - mean that the so-called "figurehead" is now very much in control, according to Lee Ngok, a Hong Kong-based specialist on China 's army. The latest Defence White Paper, warning of the possible use of force agai nst Taiwan, has further strengthened Mr Hu's position within the all-imp ortant military, said Professor Lee. Mr Hu's muscle-flexing agenda towards Taiwan also includes a new law on s ecession, laying the ground for a possible invasion of the breakaway pro vince if it goes ahead with moves towards independence. Nor has he shied away from a fight with the pro-democracy movement in Hon g Kong, prompting mass protests by ruling out any early political reform there.
Profile of Hu Jintao Yet when Mr Hu and his new Prime Minister Wen Jiabao came to power, they presented themselves as a kinder and gentler fourth generation of leader s, intent on helping those left behind by the economic reforms. The two leaders made high-profile trips to poorer areas. When the Sars cr isis struck they called for more open reporting by the media and fired s enior officials who had been slow to act. The new government championed "sustainable development" and took steps to cool off the construction fever that had engulfed cities like Shanghai, sending in teams to investigate malpractice by local officials. The fact that Mr Hu and Mr Wen have done that in the very city where Jian g Zemin has his political powerbase suggests they have begun to take the offensive, according to Li Cheng, professor of government at Hamilton C ollege in the United States. Chinese policemen restrain a Chinese protester, 06/01/2005 Mr Hu has cracked down on dissidents and protesters "As a wise politician, Hu Jintao quickly sensed that his mandate was to f ix the serious problems that occurred during the Jiang era. "These include Jiang's favourable policies towards Shanghai and other coa stal regions at the expense of the interior, his single-minded goal to i ncrease the GDP without paying attention to social cohesion, and his obs ession with patron-client ties," he said. Mr Hu has tried to reform the workings of the Communist Party to improve its ability to govern. But his populist leanings and desire for change only go so far. There has been no movement towards the types of genuine political reform that were discussed in the 1980s but have been taboo ever since - such a s separating Party from Government. Iron fist Robin Munro, research director at China Labour Bulletin, a Hong Kong-base d labour rights group, said the hand that seemed to be holding out an ol ive branch to society had come to look more like an iron fist in a velve t glove. "If anything, the numbers of arrests of dissidents, labour and rural righ ts activists and Internet free thinkers has been even higher lately than during Jiang Zemin's last years in office," he said. "Growing corruption and social inequality in China are fuelling escalatin g levels of social protest, and Hu Jintao and his team seem powerless or unwilling to address these root causes in earnest." He is urbane, unassuming, controlled - and as immaculate as ever. Westerners who thought he might become China's Gorbachev have been left d isappointed. But as Li Cheng explained, becoming a Gorbachev figure woul d imply failure. "Hu Jintao's mandate, as he perceives it, is not to end the one-party rul e or lead to the collapse of the Middle Kingdom, but to save the Chinese Communist Party and to enhance China's influence and power in the ever- changing international environment. "No one knows whether he could succeed, but his personal power is growing and his vision for the country seems to be shared by many Chinese".
|
http://csua.com/feed/