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In Face of Rural Unrest, China Rolls Out Reforms
Zhang, a member of the 24-member Politburo, recently was chastised by fellow senior leaders over the fatal Dec. 6 clash between rioters and police at Dongzhou, about 125 miles northeast of Hong Kong, according to Chinese journalists. His official report on the shootings, presented during an appearance in Beijing, was rejected, they said, and a central government team was sent to investigate and come up with its own report.
Despite speculation among analysts in Beijing, however, Zhang has not lost his position as party leader in Guangdong, the capital of China's assembly-line industry, or on the Politburo. His fate is considered particularly sensitive because former president Jiang Zemin, not Hu, was responsible for his ascension to the elite policymaking body.
  Premier Wen Jiabao has urged protection of farmers . . . (Fan Rujun - AP) |
Wang Yukai, deputy director of the prestigious National School of Administration and an expert on rural problems, said Hu's decision to focus now on improving farmers' lives represents a shift in the party's thinking. Previously, he recalled, the policy was to forge ahead with economic development with the hope that, as growth spread, farmers eventually would share more in the benefits along with their urban cousins.
"This is a big goal," he said. "It is not just a slogan for one day. It's a long process."
Getting rid of the agricultural tax has been especially well received among peasants, who from imperial times have had to fork over a percentage of their crops or earnings to local officials. Hu, in televised visits to farms around the country, has been shown reminding peasants of his decision, unfailingly generating happy smiles.
But Wang cautioned that such decisions announced in Beijing frequently do not fully apply in the towns, counties and villages where more than two-thirds of China's 1.3 billion people live.
For instance, a quarter of last year's government revenues in China went for the upkeep of the country's 6 million officials at all levels, he noted, including banquets, chauffeured cars and trips abroad as well as salaries. Seeing officials enjoying these perks at government expense frequently has contributed to peasants' anger and their feeling left out, he added.
At a briefing for senior officials in Hu's office, Wang said, he offered a 14-character formula for improving life in the countryside. "Strict discipline for officials" was at the top of the list.
