> > Published on Wednesday, September 20, 2000 > > WILLY WO LAP LAM > > Jiang surviving on shaky ground > > Jiang Zemin's political foes are taking > advantage of the seemingly endless series > of corruption scandals to undermine the > president's position. And there is > evidence that the weakened party > leadership has become less able to deal > with crises ranging from rural riots to > pro-independence movements in Xinjiang. > > As courts in five coastal cities began > hearings last week on the > multi-billion-yuan Xiamen smuggling and > corruption case, the question uppermost on > people's minds is how damaging this and > similar incidents will be to Mr Jiang and > his administration. > > Apart from Fujian, big-time graft cases, > or those involving more than one billion > yuan and cadres with ranks of department > head or above, have also been discovered > in provinces including Guangdong, Guangxi, > Hebei, Yunnan and Shandong. And > allegations are flying fast that Mr Jiang > and some of his Politburo colleagues have > offered protection to cronies and former > underlings reportedly implicated in monkey > business. > > Superficially, Mr Jiang is taking things > in his stride. His publicists have cited > the high-profile executions of rotten > apples, such as former National People's > Congress (NPC) vice-chairman Cheng Kejie > and former Jiangxi vice-governor Hu > Changqing, as proof the party would not > spare "big tigers". The propaganda > machinery has pointed to the record number > of cases being investigated as evidence of > the efficacy of the anti-graft machinery. > > Yet non-Jiang-affiliated cadres across the > political spectrum are using the scandals > to lay into the president. Leftists, or > ultra-conservatives, have since early > summer been circulating yet another > "10,000-character petition", a reference > to neo-Maoist tracts lambasting the > leadership for going down the capitalist > road. The circular said corruption was the > inevitable result of Beijing abandoning > orthodox socialism and allowing private > and foreign capital to flourish. The > leftists are calling for a political > struggle to rid the party of the "tail of > capitalism". > > Alarmed, Mr Jiang has asked his aides to > rein in the leftists. Beijing and > provincial papers have run commentaries on > the imperative of following Deng > Xiaoping's dictum that "economics is the > core of party work", meaning there should > be no return to a Maoist class war. > > Meanwhile, members of the party's > quasi-rightist, or moderate, wing are > faulting Mr Jiang for cliquism and a > dictatorial work style. These cadres have > claimed that the president's obsession > with power, one of whose manifestations is > supporting tainted Jiang Faction members, > has exacerbated the corruption scourge and > damaged the party. > > The past fortnight has seen relatively > liberal members of the leadership raising > not-so-subtle alarms about the sorry state > of the party. "The relationship between > the masses and the leadership is that > between masters and servants," said > Politburo member Li Ruihuan while touring > Shandong province last week. Among the > very few cadres who almost never mention > Mr Jiang's name in public speeches, Mr Li > is considered an entrenched Jiang foe. > > "The masses are the basis of our > existence," the national media quoted Mr > Li as telling local officials. "If we part > ways with the masses, we shall accomplish > nothing - and we shall have nothing left." > Mr Li warned: "Problems do exist in the > relationship between the party and the > masses, and that between officials and the > masses. This should give rise to the > highest level of concern." > > Likewise, liberal Politburo member Tian > Jiyun was quoted in the official media as > urging the party to do more to "satisfy > the material and cultural needs of the > masses". "We must further increase our > sense of crisis and urgency," he said > while touring Zhejiang province last week. > "We must correctly handle the relationship > between reform, development and > stability." > > Party observers say Mr Jiang is vulnerable > because he is seen as not being tough > enough with officials alleged to have been > linked with graft cases. These include > Politburo member Jia Qinglin, a former > party boss of Fujian, and Cheng Weiguo, a > former Hebei party secretary. Then there > is the question of moral responsibility. > As another Jiang foe, the disgraced former > Beijing party boss Chen Xitong said in > self-defence shortly before his conviction > in 1998: "If you say I am responsible for > corruption in Beijing, who is responsible > for corruption in the entire party?" > > Moreover, Mr Jiang's apparent failure to > go after his cronies has alienated him > from two key supporters in the Politburo > Standing Committee: Premier Zhu Rongji and > NPC chief Li Peng. Mr Zhu, who was > instrumental in cracking the Xiamen case, > was reportedly angry that investigators > were not allowed to go the distance. And > Mr Li is unhappy that while his former > ally Mr Cheng was brought to book, Mr > Jiang's associates have apparently evaded > the dragnet. > > "Jiang is still undisputed number one in > the party and country, and no other > politician dares to take on the president > directly," said a retired party cadre in > Beijing. However, he added, Mr Jiang's > enemies on the left and right are using as > a pretext his failure to curb corruption > to force him to give up all his positions, > including the chairmanship of the Central > Military Commission (CMC), by 2003. > > Diplomatic analysts said Mr Jiang's > unexpected announcement - in the course of > small talk with members of the Chinese > community in New York City earlier this > month - that he would retire from his > party and state positions in 2002 and > 2003, respectively, was an effort to > pre-empt his critics. The analysts said by > volunteering to step down from these > positions, he was hoping to retain enough > support to remain as CMC chief until 2007. > > While it is unlikely that Mr Jiang's > political fortunes may be dealt a fatal > blow, it seems obvious that the party's > declining legitimacy - what Li Ruihuan > called "malaise in ties between cadres and > the masses" - has affected its ability to > handle mounting socio-political ills. The > most obvious example is the recent rash of > labour unrest and peasant incidents that > have hit provinces from Heilongjiang to > Jiangxi. > > It is true that Mr Jiang has devoted extra > resources, including expanding the > paramilitary People's Armed Police, to > deal with the disturbances. Yet as > demonstrated by the recent explosion in > Xinjiang and peasant riots in Jiangxi, > Beijing is unable to go beyond what > critics call a Band Aid style of crisis > management: responding passively to > unexpected occurrences but failing to come > up with lasting solutions. > > In the wake of rural disturbances during > the past month, Mr Jiang asked the > vice-premier in charge of agriculture, Wen > Jiabao, to hold a series of emergency > meetings. At a tele-conference last week, > Mr Wen told rural cadres that "lowering > the burden on farmers is our top > priority". The vice-premier also announced > eight measures to forbid grassroots > officials from slapping tax and other > contributions on peasants. > > However, the problem of excessive levies > on farmers, which is partly caused by > corruption, began to worsen significantly > as early as the mid-1990s. Both Mr Jiang > and Mr Wen have delivered dozens of > speeches on the subject. Instead of making > another high-sounding public appeal, the > leadership should bear in mind a warning > reportedly given by Li Ruihuan last year > on the dangers of going against the > masses: "Water can keep a vessel afloat - > but also overturn it." > > Willy Wo-lap Lam ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) is a > Post associate editor. > >
