OPINION> Commentary
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OPINION> Commentary
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Hu's speech stresses urgency of tasks ahead
By Qin Xiaoying (China Daily)
Updated: 2008-12-30 07:39 It's the end of the year again, but this year-end has felt different from the previous ones. Apart from the impact of the financial tsunami spreading in China, the other thing that makes it special is President Hu Jintao's many eye-opening remarks in his speech at the meeting commemorating the 30th anniversary of the reform and opening drive. One reason why his remarks have left in people a deep impression, was of course, their timing - Dec 18. This date may be uneventful and of no importance to other peoples around the world. But to the Chinese it marks the beginning of the nation's reform and opening up 30 years ago and the starting point of our "long march" toward modernization. Usually this should be the time to open the gate for a flood of "congratulatory" and "celebratory" speeches ready-made for such an occasion or, as the average Chinese sometimes say, "a day to sing merry tunes." But President Hu chose this day and occasion to deliver a speech full of worry, urgency and even a sense of crisis. How can anyone, Chinese or otherwise, not sit up and pay attention when they hear it? President Hu summarized the various problems facing the country's ruling party and central government today into three categories and used the same phrase - "rarely seen in human history" - three times to describe their "intensity" and the "difficulty" in solving them.
His assessment of the current situation is this: "The enormity and gravity of the tasks we have on our shoulders as we push forward the cause of reform and opening up and socialist modernization drive is rarely seen in human history; the scale and complexity of the conflicting issues facing us as we strive for reform, development and stability is rarely seen in human history; the difficulties and risks we have to tackle as we march forward is rarely seen in human history." We will understand completely that they are all very true once we put the enormity and gravity of the conflicting issues and risks that President Hu talked about against the general backdrop of this particular year - 2008; and we will see completely that he is absolutely serious about the above-mentioned assessment once we understand the financial tsunami the world has been experiencing for the past few months is just another beginning for China. Now how should we deal with this reality? President Hu has pointed out four things to do in his speech: One is "asking the people for solutions," the next is "liberating the mind," followed by "a sense of crisis" and "social construction." Asking the people about governance, what they need and for solutions is not only part of the ruling party's fundamental philosophy but also the central government's way to expand and boost domestic demand. People have noticed that President Hu mentioned a well-known remark by the late Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping in his speech, which is that policy-making begins with and is based on whether the people support, agree with, welcome and accept each decision. Meanwhile, the criterion for assessing everything the government does should be whether it helps the development of socialist social productivity, the growth of overall national strength and the improvement of people's living standard. There is no doubt that what Hu said - about asking the people about governance, what they need or for solutions - is founded on one premise - further expanding the democratic rights of the Chinese public. That is because without respect for the democratic rights of the public no one can even begin to ask the people about governance or for solutions. Among President Hu's "new" remarks the elaboration on liberating the mind is the "newest" and "most important". He said there is no limit to practice, exploration or innovation. There is no path and pattern of development that works everywhere in the world, nor is there any path or pattern of development that never changes. We cannot simply take somebody's words as doctrine and tie ourselves to it no matter what, nor can we regard every attempt that succeeded as the perfect way to do it. What President Hu meant to say is that he opposes empiricism as well as book worship and dogmatism, especially neo-empiricist thinking of some self-proclaimed reformists who take an isolated success to be universally effective in solving similar problems everywhere. He once said the Scientific Outlook on Development is also a methodology. Personally, this author finds the above-mentioned views of his to be potent examples of such philosophical thinking. In a speech with a healthy dose of a sense of crisis, Hu puts the emphasis on his worries about the ruling party and expresses particular concern about some people's muddled views and lack of clarity on the ruling party's position and sense of power. As a matter of fact, the prevalence of corruption and nonfeasance among people with power in our country, be it ruling party members, government officials or civil servants in general, has never been completely stemmed, "thanks" to continuous personal replenishment and ubiquitous behavior of rent-seeking that comes with power. So, what is at the heart of the undying fad of corruption and nonfeasance? It is the fact that some of the people in power do not understand the relationship between authority and prestige. It is considered a natural law that a position of power is forever, be it the office of a county chief or premier, while the people sitting in it come and go, meaning positions of power will never be left "empty" for long. However, a position of power does not automatically give the one in it prestige, trust and support. On the other hand, without prestige the person in power will never truly possess "authority". In short, all "officials" should keep this in their hearts: A position can be passed on, appointed or succeeded, but prestige cannot. It can only be earned and built up with one's own behavior, moral character and capabilities one deed at a time. Moreover, prestige will not last without constant care. It is as precious as a "perishable". That's why President Hu said this to all members of the ruling party: "Neither the advanced state of the Party nor its ruling position can last or remain constant without continuous tending to. Being advanced in the past doesn't automatically mean it still is today, and being advanced today doesn't mean it will be forever; being used to having it doesn't necessarily mean one still does now, and having it now doesn't mean one will forever." The author is a researcher with the China Foundation for International and Strategic Studies (China Daily 12/30/2008 page8) |
