Shaping China's political landscape

China has a colorful and turbulent political past which has been marked, and even scarred, by revolutions and the whims of powerful statesmen. We spoke with Professor Hans van de Ven from the University of Cambridge about the milestones and challenges of China's political life.

A people shaken by war

Van de Ven says that China's pre-war decline started already in the early 19th century, after a period of high growth and cultural achievement during the 18th century. "Economic and international decline, internal conflict and famine, and conflicts such as the Taiping Rebellion and the Civil War - all took their toll. It has basically taken all this time to recover from those events," he summarizes.

Although China is a socialist country, elections are held with nominal universal suffrage and even high turnouts, which may sound to many as characteristic of a democratic political system. "Democracy is a term used to put 'them' against us. Nonetheless, democracy as a formal political system does not really exist yet in China" says van de Ven. "I think that democracy is relative. It's not either or nothing." Individual freedom and the division of power are the hallmarks of Western democracies, which are still lacking in the Chinese society. "In 1949, the state was quite overbearing in China, controlling just about every aspect of life. But that is now changing -- people can say what they want and it is a safe country to be in now. As for the division of authority with respect to religion, legal, policing and political power, this has never been an element of the Chinese constitutional make-up, in contrast to Europe, where it emerged in the 17th century. Real freedom and democracy depend on that coming about," van de Ven says.

The Party behind the power

"What concerns me is that there is a trend under Hu Jintao for a strengthening of political control, a reassertion of communist ideology, which goes against the increased freedom achieved previously. This probably has a lot to do with keeping the power of the center strong rather than with ideological concerns."

"There are actually several parties in China, but they are not opposition parties as Westerners often view political parties to be. They were set up during the Civil War period 1940-1949 in order to give a place to people who had been committed to those parties before the Communists took over. These parties gave them a role in the new order without really giving them any power," van de Ven explains.

"Besides the NPC, you also have the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), an advisory body, which is composed of people who do not necessarily want to belong to the Communist Party, but are nonetheless significant figures. If democracy is about opposition, there are people who have been able to oppose the ruling party through that system. The people in question were sometimes moral leaders and their voices could carry much weight. Religious organizations have also historically been a channel for voicing opposing arguments. They provide opportunities for people to move out of their established political system, which is why some religious organizations are viewed as a threat to Beijing."

People on the move

The new private property law has people seeking better legal protection for their possessions (Image: Radio86)

Voting may still not be an ordinary person's best choice of action when trying to make a difference in the Chinese society, although voting is an inherent part of political behavior in the country. "The Communist Party of China has about 70-80 million members, which calls for huge elections to take place to appoint the representatives," van de Ven says. "Several elections are held in the CCP to elect first local, then provincial and finally national Party leaders, even if these continue to be carefully staged performances. You also have the NPC. One way in which the outcome of elections was controlled was by having only one candidate; even if there were more than one, party organizations or workplace leaders made very clear for whom one was to vote."

That said, van de Ven grants it that there have been elections that have been properly carried out and where people have even refused to cast their votes for the Party's preferred candidates. "A couple of years back, there were elections for a local representative body where there were multiple candidates who had been recommended by the State. But, because people now own their own real estate and apartments, and they are very concerned by how things look and how things are run, they went against th Party's wishes and elected representatives who would fight for their interests. In urban areas, with the passage of the new property law, people will see their interests much more clearly and the political process will have to become a bit more honest and a bit more clear. The growth of the private economy will have the same effect and people will find ways to make their displeasure known and put a lot of pressure on the authorities -- without outright rebellion or even a democratic voting. The point is, that power is being diffused throughout the society now much more than in the past and it will have political repercussions."

The passage of the new property law was a move that was both expected and necessary, and it will undoubtedly have widespread effects. "Greater protection for private property is a good thing and it will have a political effect. It had to happen because over the past decade, people have been able to buy their own houses, and without a good property law, that was not sustainable. Rising prices have people looking for greater protection also."

The real challenge in the matter is, as van de Ven points out, enforcing the new law because courts and lawyers have to update their procedures. "The judicial system has already made a lot of progress, but you can't bring about an effective court system with the right judges and solicitors who are willing to make arguments against the Party over night," van de Ven says.

Van de Ven points out that initially, Chinese courts were staffed with people from the military, which was in a strange way understandable according to van de Ven. Now the goal is to establish a judicial system that is composed of professionals trained in law. "Getting that system to work is just as important as passing new laws," van de Ven emphasizes.

Privatization at the root of corruption

China's unique status as a developing country undergoing numerous reforms and developments has made it possible for certain people to misuse their power. "Any privatization carries the danger of becoming a source of corruption. As the economy booms, the people in the top positions sometimes take undue advantage of their position, which creates resentment," van de Ven says, and adds that the two prerequisites of political transparency in China would be a better judicial system and a much more open press. "A responsible and good press that exposes abuse of power will get widespread support in China. If the Party says that the press can expose something, then the press does so very quickly and they have already exposed a great deal of corruption. To eliminate restrictions on the press would be a hugely important step and it is important that they have recently been tightening up," van de Ven says.

"Developing China's military in the world's interest"

"Serving in the People's Liberation Army was popular throughout the 1960s and early 1970s but since the takeoff of the economy, all the brightest people have moved into finance and business, and only very few people want to serve in the military. To make the Chinese military into a generally professional, highly trained organization that attracts the best people in China -- I think that it is actually in the world's interest. The positive development that people don't talk much about is that the People's Liberation Army is now serving as part of peacekeeping forces, for instance, in Lebanon. That suggests that the United Nations is more comfortable with the Chinese military and that the Chinese military is willing to cooperate and assume the role of a responsible 'world citizen,'" van de Ven says. He sees these as positive developments.

Natural evolution