Subject: Chinese dissidents say rights abuses threaten economic gains
\HD Chinese dissidents say rights abuses threaten economic gains
Chinese dissidents in the United States predict economic reforms
approved by the recent Communist Party congress will fail unless the nation also embraces political reform.
China's 14th Communist Party Congress last month adopted a "socialist
market economy" in line with changes pushed by the country's paramount
"A fast-growing economy does add legitimacy to the Communist Party's
rule; it's a matter of fact whether you like it or not," said Liu
Yongchuan, 32, a research fellow at the Asia/Pacific Center of Stanford
"However, a system that does not allow free expression and free press
and a regime that is not willing to sit down and negotiate with the
opposing forces will likely lead to social chaos," he said in a telephone interview."
Chinese authorities adopted the reforms at the congress to preserve
their "socialism with Chinese characteristics."
But Chinese dissidents termed the 14th congress "a step back" from the
previous party congress in 1987 because there was no mention of political reform even though much was said about changing "the way state-owned enterprises operate" to boost their "vitality and efficiency."
"I didn't hear any echo of the ideas touted by Zhao Ziyang during the
last congress, such as separating the party from the government," Mr. Liu said.
Mr. Zhao lost his position as party chief for sympathizing with the
student-led protests that culminated in an army crackdown in Tiananmen
"Right now, the party has a chance to stay in power because the notion
that it must step down is not yet dominating public opinion," Mr. Liu
said. "But that chance won't last long unless they start adopting
political reform. If they wait for others to take the initiative, they
"A leadership's role is to capture and lead the trend of the people and
the society; if one leadership fails to do so, another leadership will take its place."
But a former party official who recently came to this country and spoke
on condition of anonymity said the Communist Party has no chance of staying in power, at least not as communists.
"It's going to fall apart - the people have piled up too many
grievances over the decades," he said.
He listed the failed Great Leap Forward in the late 1950s, the Cultural
Revolution from 1966-76 and the 1989 crackdown on the democracy movement, saying, "Each time many, many people lost their lives." He said the people will not forgive the Communist Party.
He said party members might continue to stay in power, "but certainly
not under the banner of the Communist Party."
He said economic reform alone will not satisfy the Chinese.
"Ask any individual in China if they want democracy and freedom, see
what they say," he said. "Right now they don't have a choice, but wait
Another dissident said economic advances only will increase people's
confidence and lead to demands for more political rights.
"People were much better off in 1989 than they were 10 years before,
but look what happened," said Hu Ping, a popular columnist among the
He agreed that a socialist market economy by itself would not pacify
the dissatisfied population in China.
"Throughout China's long history, the emperors adopted controversial
policies toward economics and politics - they allowed people freedom to do business but not freedom to think," Mr. Hu, 45, said by telephone from his apartment in New York City.
The period of Mao Tse-tung from 1949 to 1976 was unique because the
government tightly controlled the country's economic as well as political development.
Wan Runnan, 46, president of the Paris-based Federation for a
Democratic China, called the socialist market economy a temporary
stimulation, "like an athlete taking steroids."
This article is copyright 1992 The Washington Times.