China’s communist party Congress is meeting in Beijing. President Hu Jintao has addressed it by outlining the present state of affairs and his vision for China for the future.
To those used to the drama and action of democratic legislatures, the proceedings of the people’s Congress will seem boring. Complaints that everything is decided beforehand are true. But it is very significant because Hu Jintao has underlined the weaknesses of existing policies and areas which will be emphasized in the future. we will also know who will be Jintao’s successor after his term ends after five years; who in turn will lead china for ten years after that. In short, this congress will decide the future 15 years of China.
The Chinese economy has been clipping along at a 10% plus growth rate since some years now and it has emerged as a world power. This has increased the incomes of its citizens; but there is a blemish on the rosy picture. An Urban Chinese earn three times of what a villager earns. Greater prosperity has been accompanied by increasing inequality. Jintao has in his speech to the People’s Congress stressed on this point strongly.
Inequality of growth has also been witnessed between the prosperous easten parts of the country and the backward western provinces.
Corruption has been another cause of worry. It is rampant at lower levels of the bureaucracy. Many Chinese companies have got away with manufacturing sub standard products because officials responsible for quality control were bribed. Many reports have trickled in of slave-like exploitation of common workers because mine owners and officials were in cahoots together. Chinese mines have the highest number of worker deaths in the world precisely because of this reason.
Pollution is another concern. Jintao has said that China’s economic growth had been
realized at an excessively high cost of resources and the environment.
Beijing is so polluted that there is a perpetual smog over the city and concerns have been raised of the health of participants in the Olympics Games due to be held here next year.
The Chinese president has adopted a moderate stance on Taiwan, ruling out military force to unite it with the mainland.
One thing that will not change is the primacy of the communist party of China. The economy of the country is capitalist; the politics is communist. Many experts say this dichotomy will create trouble and instability in the future. The only reason common citizens are not calling for democracy now is that they are too busy making money. Many people in Shanghai are not even aware that there is a Party Congress going on in the country!
