China's Reform Debate Surfaces in 2 Essays

BEIJING, May 25 -- China dropped another hint of internal debate over political reform Friday, publishing commentaries saying the country should shun European-style democratic socialism.

The brief articles, by a pair of established Beijing academics, ran side-by-side in People's Daily, the official Communist Party newspaper. Both argued that China could borrow useful policies from democratic countries but should remain faithful to the "socialism with Chinese characteristics" that has been official doctrine here since the 1980s.

"The path of democratic socialism is not able to save China," said Xin Xiangyang of the government-sponsored Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. "Only the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics can make China flourish."

By contesting the idea that democracy would be good for China, the commentaries suggested that some party members are pushing for political reforms to match the dramatic economic loosening that has taken place over the last 25 years.

Any sign of doctrinal differences has become particularly sensitive as leaders maneuver for advantage before the 17th Party Congress this fall. There, President Hu Jintao hopes to cement his hold on power, analysts say, and anoint possible successors in the party hierarchy. In particular, he appears ready to name his own loyalists to positions of power to replace the holdover proteges of former president Jiang Zemin.

In a likely manifestation of the maneuvering, Shao Hua, the widow of Mao Zedong's late son Mao Anqing, published a front-page article in the May 18 People's Daily heaping praise on Jiang for what she described as warmhearted concern for the legendary Chinese leader's descendants. Political observers in Beijing saw the article as noteworthy because, amid the effusive praise for Jiang, it never mentioned Hu.

Whether on doctrine or personnel, most differences of opinion within the party have remained private, forcing analysts to look for indirect indications of what is happening behind closed doors.

But occasionally there is no mistaking the debate. Early this year, a pair of essays in party-sanctioned intellectual publications -- one by Xie Tao, a former Renmin University vice president, and another by Zhou Ruijun, a former People's Daily editor -- openly called for democratic reforms as the best way forward for China. Xie specifically referred to Northern Europe's democratic socialist systems as a source of inspiration.

Both essays had particular weight because they were published in party-establishment journals and authored by respected former officials with long-standing party credentials. They were daring because both suggested that part of China's current problems stem from the Communist Party's refusal to relinquish its monopoly on power.

Premier Wen Jiabao issued the first public reply Feb. 27 in a front-page People's Daily article, saying China should have democracy as a distant goal but is not yet ready for it. His argument was that China should not adopt European-style democracy but that, one day, "socialism with Chinese characteristics" would include China's own version of democracy.

The publication of Friday's commentaries suggested that Wen's rebuttal has not silenced the debate and that the party leadership is still eager to douse any enthusiasm Xie and Zhou may have ignited.

"It is out of the question to mix up the distinction between democratic socialism and the creation by Chinese Communist Party people of socialism with Chinese characteristics," said Cao Changshen, a professor at prestigious Peking University.