Contrary to some less well-informed Western
observers, many of the rights and privileges of modern democracy have
already been enshrined in China's Constitution, revised and perfected by
the Communist Party's early founding fathers.
"The resulting
document guaranteed full powers for a representative legislature, the
right to ownership of private property, and freedoms of speech, press
and assembly. But the idealism of the founding fathers was short-lived.
Though the Constitution was ratified in 1982 by the National People’s Congress, it has languished ever since", acccording to an article in the New York Times of 3 February, 2013.
" Some of Mr. Xi’s recent speeches, including one in which he
emphasized the need to enforce the Constitution, have ignited hope among
those pushing for change", the New York Times continues.
"Most
notable among those is Study Times, a publication of the Central Party
School, where Mr. Xi served as president until this year. That weekly
newspaper ran a signed editorial on Jan. 21 that recommends that the
party establish a committee under the national legislature that would
ensure that no laws are passed that violate the Constitution."
Neither Mr Xi nor the Study Times of the Party School are known for
thinking off the top of their heads. The Bo Xilai affair and a growing economic, social and political divide are clear writings
on the wall. It has been said many times recently that Alexis de
Tocquerville's tome on the French Revolution is becoming favourite
reading amongst China's top leaders.
While China will chart its own path of development and will not copy the Western model of rival multi-party politics, political reform is getting more pressing as mounting social discontent is posing an existential threat to the Party.
The debate on the need for real dmocratic reform is intensifying amongst China's top elites. Professor Yu Jianrong of the Chinese Academy of Social Science circulated a succinct, down-to-earth, 10-year outline for China’s social and political development. First promulgated in April this year, it went viral on Sina Weibo amongst his 1.5 million followers on the popular micro-blogging site. Click here
While the jury is still out pending Xi's formal installation as China's new President, the prognosis is building up that something epocal is likely to materialize sooner rather than later, as chances for China's true renaissance, and indeed its very system survival, are now at stake.
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