State and Society in 20th Century China - Essay Example

and Society in 20th century China Describe the main features of Deng-era political reform. What were some of the most important changes introduced and how successful have these changes been? The political reform of China has been rather slow; the reform started almost immediately after the death of Mao; however, it took about three decades to be completed (Gittings, 2006, 164). The efforts towards the restructuring of China’s existing political system – referring to the political framework of China during the governance of the country by Mao – made clearer after the delegation of the country’s governance to Deng Xiaoping; Deng become the leader of China’s Communist Party at the age of 71 – his age has been an issue highlighted by his rivals. It was 1975 when Deng took the control of China – in just two years after Deng started a plan – which lasted for 10 years, i.e. from 1977 up to 1987, and became known as a ‘political structural reform’ (Gittings, 2006, 165); the main target of this scheme has been the extinction of old political ideas – referring mostly to those developed during the governance of China by Mao – and their replacement with new political principles – incorporated within the above scheme. The efforts for China’s political reform had many opponents; one of them has been Hua Guofeng – a successor of Mao, in terms of his political ideas and targets. The resistance of Hua and his supporters towards the political changes promoted by Deng proves the refusal of Chinese politicians to be aligned with the current political trends (Gittings, 2006, 167) and their preference towards the traditional principles of Communism – as expressed through Mao’s political choices. It could be stated that political reform in China was imposed because of the need for an economic reform – which could not be achieved unless the political structure and principles in China were changed – after making this assumption Deng enforced the development of the country’s political structure through a licence granted in 1986 (Gittings, 2006, 197). Certain aspects of the attempted political reform attempted by Deng after 1986 are the following: a) change of the country’s political system to capitalism – even if communism has been the primary political system its structure has been changed showing similar characteristics with political systems that are based on capitalism (Gittings, 2006, 213), b) development of ‘patriotism’ – a concept that was not particular supported during the governance of the country by Mao (Gittings, 2006, 209), c) the increase of the political civilization in China (Gittings, 2006, 13), d) the improvement of the relationship ‘between intellectuals and the party’ (Goldman, 1994, 133) and e) the ‘formation of new political entities of workers and intellectuals’ (Goldman, 1994, 321). The above changes set the basis for China’s economic reform; the current position of China in the international community – the country is one of the most powerful competitors in the global market – proves that the initiatives undertaken by Deng have been quite important and critical for the country’s development in the long term. 2. What are the basic elements and goals in Deng’s economic reform agenda? What are the major obstacles to successfully completing the economic reform process? Deng has tried to change the economic standards developed under the influence of the Mao’s governance; a new series of economic priorities has been set in order to ensure the increase of China’s competitiveness in the global marketplace. The main characteristics of these changes have been the following: a) the development of commerce in various industrial sectors, b) the limitation of the power of the social class known as ‘bourgeoisie’ (Gittings, 2006, 197), c) re-establishment of the foreign – trade (Gittings, 2006, 216), d) development of fixing prices in products and services (Gittings, 2006, 216), e) improvement of control over the activities of importers and exporters (Gittings, 2006, 216) and f) the development of labour in order to meet the labour standards held in the international market. The economic reform – as planned and developed by Deng – had started after the development of the political reform; in fact, the political reform of China had been already well developed when the country’s economic reform started. As in the case of the country’s political reform, Deng had to face the resistance of his opponents – within the Communist party – who remained loyal to the economic practices of the past – referring to the Mao-era. In order to proceed faster the economic reform, Deng and his supporter – Zhao Ziyang – tried to delay the reform of traditional political ideologies and – at the same time – to enforce the development of the economic reform – while their opponents were concentrated on checking the political ideologies Deng and Ziyang could work on China’s political reform (Goldman, 1994, 224). In certain cases, the initiatives developed in the context of the economic reform of China were in opposition with the country’s traditional political ideas – at this point Deng was obliged to follow the rules of the party and delay the progress of economic reform – under these terms it could be stated that the political structure of China – a structure that could not be changed totally – had been the major obstacle for the development of the country’s economy (Chen, 1995, 68). However, as the traditional political ideas in China were changed, the country’s economic structure and principles were also transformed – even if the relevant procedure took several decades to be completed. At this point, it should be noted that the economic reform of China has faced the opposition of the urban population – mostly because the political and the economic reform in China has given to certain part of the population increased power and financial advantages (Goldman, 1994, 267); this was another issue that had to be addressed in order for the country’s economic reform to be successfully completed; economic reform can be certainly considered an advantage but only when all citizens have equal access to financial benefits and advantages (Agelasto et al., 1998, 37). 3. What were the main causes and dynamics of the Tiananmen (June4) incident? Were China’s conservatives correct to blame Deng’s reform policies for the mass protests of May-June 1989? The incident of Tiananmen Square of June 4 1989 has been caused under the influence of specific events. The attempts for the country’s political and economic reform – with the support of Deng and his followers – can be considered as partially responsible for the development of the protests of May-June 1989; however, there were additional reasons for the specific outcome. Deng has promoted the political reform of China but the conditions were not appropriate for such initiative; in fact, the post – Mao period should be characterized by gradual efforts to change the existing political and economic structure; on the contrary, Deng tried to promote radical political and economic changes without having the consent of the other members of the Party; he only used specific persons to promote his policies – like Ziyang, an active supporter of Deng. The opposition of Deng towards ‘bureaucracy, concentration of powers and patriarchal methods’ (Gittings, 2006, 173) were accepted with skepticism by the Party’s members; the effort to establish these ideas in the country’s political framework – as a result – led to the opposition of the Party’s members; this phenomenon – within the Party – worried the population; the lack of cooperation among politicians led to the instability at all social and political levels. However, the development of protests in Tienanmen in 1989 has been actually caused by another reason: Deng has already promoted his policies and political ideas for about a decade; the first results of his efforts became visible; the fact that inequality has resulted from these measures led to the protests of people; the latter understood that the attempted changes were not in favour of the major part of the population but of a few people - the bourgeoisie was again present and more powerful (Gittings, 2006, 180). In this context, China’s conservatives were right to blame Deng for his initiatives; these initiatives were right as of their context but they were problematic as of their results. 4. Why has it been so difficult for China’s leaders to successfully arrange for a stable leadership succession? Draw on the rise and fall of two of the following: Hua Guofeng. Hu Yaobang. Zhao Ziyang or Jiang Zemin to answer this question. Leaders in China had different priorities and beliefs. Hua Guofeng and Zhao Ziyang are indicative examples of the above case. Because of their political differentiations – referring not to their political direction, as they were all loyal, more or less, to the Communist Party – politicians in China could not easily cooperate towards the achievement of common targets. It is for this reason that the succession of Mao did not lead to the stability in the governance of China – Deng that was asked to govern the country after Mao had faced severe oppositions by the members of the Party – Hua Guofeng was among his major opponents even if later he supported Deng’s view on the need for China’s economic reform. The reasons for the difficulty of China’s leaders to arrange for a stable leadership succession can be identified by referring to the strengths and the weaknesses of two of these leaders: Hua Guofeng and Zhao Ziyang. Guofeng has appeared in the political scene of China in the context of Mao’s succession; the popularity of Guofeng has been based on his loyalty on Mao’s style of governance. However, through the years, this characteristic of Guofeng becomes his major weakness – referring to his opponents that supported China’s political and economic reform. Guofeng has been one of the ‘Small Gang of Four’ (Gittings, 2006, 192). One of the most severe faults of Guofeng has been his behaviour during the events of Tiananmen Square in 1976 when Guofeng ‘not only failed to rehabilitate those who had suffered after Tiananmen but allowed the arrest of many more activists’ (Gittings, 2006, 143). Initially, Guofeng could be regarded as a successful successor of Mao; however, his practices and his beliefs led to the limitation of his power within the Party. Zhao Ziyang, a politician with different political priorities, represents the opposite ideological and political framework – compared to that of Guofeng. However, Ziyang also failed to gain a critical position in the Party – even if he supported most of Deng’s proposals and initiatives. Ziyang had a key role in the political reform of China; in 1987 Ziyang was asked to replace Hu as the head of the team that would present ‘the proposals of the political restructuring at the Thirteenth Party Congress in 1987’ (Goldman, 1994, 189). In fact, it could be stated that Ziyang – like Hu – would never achieve to have an important position in the Party without the active support of Deng. On May 1989 Ziyang resigned after stated his opposition towards the use of military forces in the protests (Goldman, 1994, 322). Under these terms, the lack of stable political conditions in China can be considered as related with the inability of political leaders to arrange for a stable leadership succession; the fact that politicians in China tend to use the political framework already established by others can be regarded as the main cause of this phenomenon; Ziyang has been the supporter of Deng and Hu has been the supporter of Mao; both of them followed a specific political scheme and were not able to clearly state their objections in relation to the policies of their political initiators. 5. In what ways have state-society relations changed in the three-plus decades since Mao’s death? In what ways have they remained the same? What are the prospects of a society-led political transition in China? Mao’s death has led to the differentiation of political and economic conditions in China. During the country’s governance by Mao specific political and economic standards were likely to be promoted: the rights of the oligarchy, the close control of the state over the commerce, the limitation of cooperation with other countries in the international community – referring especially to the international commerce (Gittings, 2006, 173) have been certain of the political and economic characteristics of Mao’s governance. The succession of Mao by Deng has led to the introduction of a series of changes – the promotion of economic advantages for people that are not closely related with the Party has been one of the targets of Deng – but the obstacles appeared led to the delay of these plans. The failure of the successors of Mao to promote equality across the country – referring not only to social issues, but also to political and economic issues – has been expressed by the events of Tienanmen Square of 1989 (Gittings, 2006, 173). However, despite the obstacles, the state-society relations in China have changed after the death of Mao; these changes can be identified in the following facts: a) the involvement of individuals in commercial activities has been promoted and supported by the state, b) individuals could seek for their rights through the courts and c) financial support to people has been increased leading to the improvement of the living conditions – at least of a significant part of the population in China. On the other hand, there is a point indicating that certain conditions can never changed: rights have been attributed to individuals but again these individuals are likely to be related with the Party – directly or indirectly; even if the bourgeoisie has been eliminating – at least this was one of the Deng’s efforts – its power remained the same; in fact, there has been a transformation of the specific social class under the influence of the Western political and social trends. Taking into consideration the issues developed above it could be stated that a society-led political transition in China would be rather difficult to be achieved. Still politics in the specific country have a strong control on the social structure; even if a political change would be initiated by the society still there were issues to be faced. In other words, current political conditions in China do not favour the development of social principles that are independent from politics or interests of specific teams of persons; if such an independency is achieved only then a political reform initiated by the society would have chances to succeed. The strong oppositions developed within the Party when a political reform was first attempted (Gittings, 2006, 143) help to understand the specific view. 6. How successful has the CCP been in reformulating its ideology as an effective means of re-legitimating CCP rule in an era in which Marxist beliefs are increasingly seen as irrelevant to the policy challenges of contemporary China? Defend your view as concretely as possible. The development of Communist Party in China presents certain differentiations compared to similar political systems established in other countries; in China, there was no working class; under these terms, a Communist Party would not chances to succeed; an alternative was retrieved: peasants and intellectuals in China were used as the basis of the country’s Communist Party (Gittings, 2006, 149). Through the decades CPP had to change its ideology in order to meet the political and social trends of other political systems in the West – taking into consideration the fact that China has become a major competitor in the global marketplace. A significant obstacle towards the reform of CPP’s traditional ideology has been the political and social framework developed under the governance of Mao; it is for this reason that the reform of the Party’s ideology started after the death of Mao and it was gradual (Gittings, 2006, 164) – since no similar initiative has been undertaken in the past it was not possible for such changes to be promoted within a short period of time. Through the years, as Marxist beliefs become irrelevant to political and social conditions and needs, CPP has transformed its principles – at least up to a specific limit – ensuring the ability of China to participate actively in the global commercial, social and political activities. The fact that the reform of CPP’s ideology lasted for a long period of time – actually it took about three decades for the party’s reform to be completed, at a satisfactory level – leads to the assumption that the promotion of changes in China’s political, economic and social framework is a difficult task – practices and beliefs that are already well established for many years cannot be eliminated or radically transformed; if such a project is attempted it must have the active support of all its initiators. In this context, the success of the CPP to reformulate its ideology – in accordance with the current political, social and economic trends - can be identified to the following facts: a) China has become a global competitor in terms of its commerce and its economy, b) the country has managed to attract an important part of foreign investments, c) education and culture is supported by the state, d) the living conditions of people across the country have been improved compared to the past and e) the power of China to protect its borders and support its geo-political demands towards the other countries of the international community is extremely strong. References Agelasto, M., Adamson, B., 1998. Higher education in post-Mao China. Hong Kong University Press Chen, F., 1995. Economic transition and political legitimacy in post-Mao China: ideology and reform. SUNY Press Gittings, J., 2006. The Changing Face of China: From Mao to Market. Oxford University Press Goldman, M., 1994. Sowing the seeds of democracy in China: political reform in the Deng Xiaoping era. Harvard University Press Read More