China Mulls a Political Niche for Private Entrepreneurs

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Tuesday, July 16, 2002

China Mulls a Political Niche for Private Entrepreneurs

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The Communist Party of China (CPC) is re-picturing the most populous nation's political and ideological landscapes to accommodate the reshuffled social or political strata following its two-decade opening-up and reforming strivings.

One of the sensitive issues is how to dispose properly the social status of those from the Non-State economic sectors, especially private entrepreneurs.

"We must correctly recognize and treat the newly-emerged social classes in our current economic life," according to a signed article in the Qiushi (or Truth-seeking), a magazine sponsored by the CPC Central Committee.

"Through their honest work and lawful businesses, the vast majority of the newly-arising classes have made a contribution to increasing China's productivity and therefore are builders of the cause of constructing the socialism with Chinese characteristics," the article said.

This is actually reiterating Chinese President Jiang Zemin's points in his landmark speech celebrating the 80th anniversary of CPC's birthday on last July 1.

After stressing workers, farmers, intellectuals, servicemen and carders as CPC's fundamental components and backbone, Jiang, also the General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee, said: "We should also enroll those excellent from other social sectors into the Party on the condition that they accept the Party's constitution and chart, spontaneously strive for the Party's guidelines and constitution, and observe the requirements for a Party member in long-term ordeals."

This is undoubtedly a steep veer of the traditional political and ideological orientation in CPC's ruling, and also another bold step to increase the social profile of the Non-State economic sectors since the 15th CPC National Congress in 1998

In Jiang's reference, "those excellent from other social sectors" include not only employees of assorted Non-State businesses, but also their bosses or capitalists, who, in accordance with the classical Marxist definition, are exploiters and therefore have no right to share the state power, let alone the CPC membership.

A work by the "Invisible Hands"

The market-oriented economic drive has make all this.

From 1990 to 1999, the industrial output, total retail sales of consumer products and taxes created by private firms grow respectively by 49.08, 56.49 and 72.08 percent per year, according to a research by the Chinese Academy of Social Science, the government think tank.

In 2000, private firms offer jobs to 10.7 million laid-offs from State-owned enterprises, up 159.9 percent compared to the previous year.

Private firms' economic clout and their big role in alleviating the unemployment pressure, one of policy-makers' racking headaches in economically transitional China, have made it a must to cut a suitable social slot for them.

"We cannot judge the political progressiveness of a social group merely according to whether or how much they have got possessions," Jiang said in his "July 1" speech, " instead we should heed their political and ideological conditions and their actual (political) behaviors; how they procure, employ and deal with their property; and observe their contribution, through their own laboring, to the cause of building the socialism with Chinese characteristics."

According to Jiang, letting Non-State-sectors people join the party is a way to maintain the advanced nature of the Party, which will help to broaden the Party's political base and unite more for invigorating China's economy.

"The Party's highest priority is to make prosperous the national economy ... ," said Jiang on May 31 while addressing a graduation ceremony for a batch of provincial leaders trained in Beijing-based Central CPC School, a cradle of the Party's elite and high-ranking administrative cadres.

"We must make unremitting efforts to ensure that the Party is the vanguard of not only the working class, but also the Chinese people and whole nation at large ... ," Jiang said.

So far, a nation-wide study among the Party members of Jiang's "July 1" and "5.31" speeches is riding a tide, which, according to political scientists in Beijing, have actually set the key-note of the incoming 16th CPC National Congress.

Unfathomable repercussions

Apart from the widely-discussed re-arrangement of the Standing Committee of CPC Central Committee's Political Bureau, political analysts in Beijing think that the 16th CPC National Congress will revise the Party's constitution and attach Jiang's "Three Represents" thinking to the list of Marxism, Mao Zedong Thought and Deng Xiaoping's Theory.

Compared with the Party's traditional ideological pursuit of the lofty socialism and communism, "Three Represents" - the Party must, to maintain its progressiveness, represent the development trend of China's advanced social productive forces, the orientation of China's advanced culture, and the fundamental interests of the overwhelming majority of the people of China - smells more pragmatic hence more acceptable for nowadays Chinese, although never has the Party declared that it will abandon the socialism or communism.

With it, people with the Non-State economic sectors, especially private firms owners, will be entitled to the CPC membership and find themselves more secure politically and naturally economically.

As for its implications, this might mean a re-birth of completely new CPC.

By PD Online staff Forest Lee

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