China Since Tiananmen: 21 Years of Development Sans Democracy
Deng Xiaoping's resolute handling of 1989 protesters was based on the theoretical framework that could be summarised as follows: China is witnessing the primary stage of socialism, which will continue for many more years; Development of forces of producti
FOURTH JUNE is the anniversary of Tiananmen incident, wherein violent confrontation took place in Beijing in 1989 between armed forces and large groups standing against the Communist government. The 1989 protest was conglomeration of section of ex-members of CCP (Chinese Communist Party), of the Trotskyites, of the urban workers, of the students and of the intellectuals. CCP leadership was sympathetic to these demands, except for immediate political reforms. Further, political liberalization for attaining western style democracy was completely ruled out. Deng Xiaoping’s resolute handling of 1989 protesters was based on the theoretical framework that could be summarised as follows: China is witnessing the primary stage of socialism, which will continue for many more years; Development of forces of production is the utmost task before the CCP and the Chinese people and; only CCP’s supremacy can ensure political stability required for massive economic development. Deng Xiaoping was convinced that loosening of CCP’s authority would pave way for chaotic years, which would hamper the economic modernization programme. Chinese government was subject to severe criticism in international media over its use of force against agitators. The capitalist forces all over the world were overjoyed with the probable fall of socialist government in China and propagated systemic change in the country sooner than later. In this context, we can witness four noticeable things in today’s China. One, the 1989 protesters could not regroup since then. The paradox of Fourth June Incident was liberal intellectuals leading a section of urban workers who were dismayed by the pace of restructuring of State-Owning-Enterprises (SOEs). Another paradox was protesting students’ disillusionment with Marxism-Leninism but their inability to find an alternative that would have made China as developed as the western countries. Once Chinese state cracked down on the protesters, these contradictions ensured that the dissenters won’t come together in the near future. The rural populace remained indifferent to the 1989 conflict for many of them, if not all, had experienced dramatic improvement in their standard of living under Deng Xiaoping regime. Two, the CCP maintained its position that in 1989 use of force was necessary. This continued support for clampdown on agitators in 1989 is significant. The CCP has a long tradition of self-criticism and critical evaluation of the past as well as criticism of its tall leaders. However, handling of the Tiananmen protest had never been a subject of self-criticism for CCP neither was criticised by any noteworthy section within the party. Since Tiananmen protests the CCP has witnessed two generational leadership changes and the third leadership transfer is in the offing. At no point of time, the new leaderships tried to torpedo legacy of Deng Xiaoping and his associates over the Fourth June Incident ; either overtly or covertly. Three, there has been no system change with CCP firmly in control of affairs. In the immediate aftermath of Tiananmen protest, Chinese government brought the inflation under control and put breaks on indiscriminate restructuring of SOEs. This was helpful in taming the dissent within urban workers. Similarly, cases against corrupt officials were fast-tracked and even death penalty was handed to few of the perpetrators of financial crimes. These measures were symbolic in nature as corruption in China has been the systemic problem. Even then, it helped in restoring confidence among ordinary Chinese citizens about leadership’s intention to get rid of corrupt officials. CCP’s continuous campaign, in post-Tiananmen phase, against the return of chaos and political instability had its impact. A generation, which faced hardships during Cultural Revolution, rallied behind the Chinese government. More importantly, the CCP succeeded in impressing upon the people that economic modernization was much more necessary than the political reforms. An ordinary Chinese citizen, post-Tiananmen, aspires more for economic prosperity than for political reforms. Most of them desire to get rich and richer, while collectively they want China to overtake Unites States in all the spheres. Chinese government further gained its legitimacy from successful handling of complex issues of national importance like unification of Hong Kong and Macau, bombing of Chinese embassy in former Yugoslavia and prolonged negotiations over accession to WTO. The recently held Beijing Olympics was also utilised by CCP to gain popularity among the people. Four, very significant developments have taken place in China since 1989 at the political and societal level under the supervision of CCP that has great implications on state-society relations. The right to property has been officially acknowledged and the Party opened up its doors to those who have become affluent, and influential thereof, as a result of economic modernization programme. The Chinese population has become more mobile with influx of rural population into cities in search of work and flight of Chinese students to foreign universities in the hope of better opportunities abroad. Direct elections are encouraged at the grass-root level, which has now become an important feature of village politics in China. Similarly, protests by farmers and workers against local authorities have become common in today’s China. In most of time, such protests erupt due to mismanagement, corruption or atrocities by local officials. Today, thousands of organizations are functional throughout China working in different fields ranging from environmental issues to care of old age persons. China’s urban market is full of various regular publications in which the common feature is absence of political matters. On the other hand, Chinese bloggers are vociferous in their political writings and sometimes critical of Party and State. At the end of year 2009, China had record 384 million internet users with 120 million using mobile internet applications. Internet usage for banking, booking travels and doing commerce is popular among its users in China. Post-Tiananmen, China has been traversing unparalleled path. This phase has, indeed, been most stable and productive for China in last two centuries. While adhering to Deng Xiaoping’s conceptualisation of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics, the post-Deng leadership has concentrated more on development of productive forces. It is also taking up challenges emanating from economic modernization programme and opening up to the outside world, like bridging the divide between coastal and inland China and addressing the disparity between rich and poor people. The real issue, so far untouched by CCP leadership, is when will China accomplish Primary Stage of Socialism and how will it enter next stage. It believes that the present stage will continue for many more years. If one takes a clue from the Chinese history; any systemic transition in China, whether entering into next stage of Socialism or embracing political liberalization, will be intensely turbulent. Today, no one is prepared for the inevitable.
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