The CCP position today is more secure than it was at the beginning of reforms in

1978. Discuss.
In the 1950s, the CCP rule under Mao was largely unchallenged. When Mao declared
that China has stood up in Tiananmen Square in 1949, it had just won a decisive
war over KMT, winning popular support. In the 60s and 70s, Mao led China into a
series of economic, political and humanitarian disasters with the Great Leap
Forward and Cultural Revolution. An estimated 30 to 50million lives were lost, along
with the wholesale destruction of Chinese traditions and culture by the Red Guards.
Deng tried to restore CCPs legitimacy with market reforms starting in 1978.
However, reforms brought high inflation and calls for democracy that led to the
Tiananmen Incident in 1989, nearly sounding CCPs demise. Still the party survived.
Although it faces governance crisis today, I think Beijing has proven to be very
resilient and adaptable in governance. Since reform, the CCP has positively
transformed Chinas into a sustained high growth country and is slowly returning it
to its strong nation status.
CCP faces multiple challenges such as the loss of ideology and a party full of
contradictions. Under Jiang Zemin, capitalists are allowed to join the CCP, a socialist
party. In 2007, CCP passed the Property Law, which protects private property
ownership. Increasingly, the party has lost its Marxism-Leninism-Mao Ze Dong
Thoughts ideological roots and in the face of its many contradictions. Since
Tiananmen incident, the party recognized that if it wants to continue to have the
legitimacy to rule, a modern version of the mandate of heaven, it must deliver
results. Beijing continues to take a practical approach to reforms. Changes to
property law and admitting capitalists have won the support for reform and boost
their own power. The party is now substituting the traditional values of
Confucianism to fill the void left by Marxism-Leninism. Secondary school syllabus
now includes Confucius teachings and even Hus harmonious society national policy
is based on Confucius ideas. Confucius teachings will also act as moral ballast
against the excesses of the market economy. These are positive developments for
Chinese society as a whole. The party has moved away from ideology and
totalitarianism before 1978 to softer human centered approach under the Hu Wen
administration. All these changes though contradictory suggest that the party is
adaptable and takes a practical approach to governance. We can witness the sense
of unison between party and people in the Sichuan earthquake.
The western democratic view argues that governance degenerate when power is
kept by a few elites, such as in Indonesia. Many people have argued that China
needs political reform to catch up with economic reform. Many have also predicted
its falls for decades. Beijing consensus suggests the Chinese model of authoritarian
political control combined with capitalist economic growth. Stability is more
important than democracy as proposed in the western model. We can argue that
the western model may not necessarily work for China. To be objective, Beijing has
not been stagnant in political reform. It is making small steps in that direction. To

prevent a return to strong man politics in Mao and Deng era, no top party cadre can
serve more than 2 five year terms. The party has recently instituted intra part
reform that places more emphasis on competence and performance rather than
personal loyalty. So we see the next generation leader Xi Jinping was selected by
votes rather than appointed by the current leader. The new generation leader Xi
Jinping was selected by votes rather than appointed by the current leader. The new
generation cadres, mostly selected based on merits, are well traveled and market
savvy. Today, the senior communist party cadres are well trained and qualified
engineers, doctors and lawyers.
Market reforms have benefitted many but allowed a small group to benefit the most
through their political connections. Endemic corruption and collusion among CCP
cadres is a deep source of resentment among citizens. Beijing and Chinese society
in general practices a patronage system, where privileges are given to favored
groups. Beijing appoints most of its communist party executives to state-owned
enterprises. These ruling elite can then trade their political connection with wealth.
The gap between the rich and the poor has grown very significantly. 1 percent of the
households control 60percent of Chinas wealth. The probabilities of officials getting
caught and punished are both small. At the ministry level, the chance of corrupt
officials getting caught is about 1 in 10. The party also controls the media on
reporting party corruption cases and Chinese courts are not independent enough.
Corruption is one area that seriously challenges its effectiveness in ruling. The party
recognizes the extent of the problem and how it challenges its legitimacy. It has
arrested and even executed high level officials on corruption charges. In 2006, the
former head of drug safety was sentenced to death for approving unsafe drugs. The
CCP disciplined more than 115000members for corruption and related violations last
year and turned many over to the courts for prosecution.

China has been under investing in public services such as healthcare, education and
housing. For example, a 2006 survey reveals that half of the Chinese people refuse
that half of the Chinese people refuse to see a doctor when ill and 30percent refuse
to go the hospital due to high costs. The privatized education market has increased
school fees but with no job guarantees as the number of graduates has increased.
In 2006, half of the university graduates could not get a job, contributing to the new
urban unemployed. The progress of reform has created a widening wealth gap
between better-educated, urban residents and farmers, migrant workers and the
elderly who find it increasingly difficult to cope with a swiftly changing society.
These along with rural poverty, environmental degradation and rising
unemployment among the educated, have led to social tensions and mass
incidents. In 2004, officials reported 74000 mass incidents in China, up from 10000
in 1994. The current Hu-Wen administration is more willing to accept that China has
to go beyond economic growth and address these issues. It has responded with
policies to reduce income disparity, increase spending in public services and

improve environmental control. The party has proposed medical insurance scheme
to cover both urban and rural areas. In their 5year plans, Beijing has allocated major
resources to spread the wealth inland from coastal regions though regional
programs like the development of the western region and the redevelopment of the
northeast and industrial belt. The part has also abolished agriculture tax and is
committed to providing free education to all children in the first 9years. But often
these measures may not get enforced when it reaches the poorer provinces.
There is no indication that CCP is loosening the grip of its control. Every year,
Beijing spends more money on the PAP than the judiciary system. After Tiananmen,
Beijing made sure that PLA was never called in again to suppress peoples
movement. Instead soldiers from the downsized PLA were transferred to the PAP.
PAP has shown itself capable of dispersing any many such mass incidents and
rebellions. The great firewall of China ensures that majority of the Chinese receive
only censored information. Beijing controls all information reported and
disseminated in China. It has even been able to co opt Foreign Service providers to
help it in its censoring efforts. Despite promises for democratization, CCP has only
allowed village level elections. The results of which are mixed. Post Beijing
Olympics, the Chinese national pride is an all time high and urban Chinese have
been very supportive of the party. A general dichotomy of support for Beijings
legitimacy is rural versus urban middle class. As China modernizes Beijing gets its
support from the growing base of urban middle income group. Despite the
draconian control over media and information, internet and phones mean that
information will flow through. Chinese society is becoming more open and Chinese
citizens are becoming better travelled. Its citizens are now more willing to ask for
their rights or to go on demonstrations. In 2007, groups of Shanghai people went on
a street protest to demand for a review of building a high speed train in their
neighborhood. Such social dynamism continues to force Beijing to reach out to its
people and carry on with its reforms to extend its legitimacy.

While its political reforms are very gradual, the Hu-Wen administration appears to
be in touch with the peoples needs. The party has been effective at governance,
but faces severe challenges in maintaining growth and stability and ridding itself of
corruption. Beijing has avoided the implosion suffered by Soviet Union and can
avoid another Tiananmen because of its strong security apparatus. Since joining
WTO, it has accumulated huge reserves and enjoys double digit growth. Today CCP
is in a much better position to steer the economy and face down challenges
internally and externally.