

Policy choices after the congress

The dust settles

China’s new leaders cheer some with hints of reform. The country’s neighbours see less encouraging signals

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Readers' comments



alex65 in reply to criticalobserver

"The strength of the Chinese Communist Party is its ability to recognise its own shortcomings."

I am deeply impressed by your loyalty and your sincere belief.

I would not want to trust anyone, let alone CCP, to correct themselves. Correct themselves for what cost? The prior atrocity caused by CCP was immense even tough CCP is now bloating in self-gratification. The facts speak for themselves. Do you still hear the agonizing cries from people who perished because of CCP?

chanshrink in reply to kommonsenses

I just say Mr Wen should face charges 'in case' there is valid evidence under fair, professional, independent and open !?

Then it would be great news to all Chinese for a real mechanism for check and balance of their unlimited power easily lead to corruption!?

Don't use hearsay to camouflage another so called 'hearsay' as you claimed!?

Mr Wen's tarnished reputation should be clarified by an open, independent and fair investigation, right!?

rewt66 in reply to kommonsenses

So Japan stole/copied everything. That's why Japanese cars were so much better than American cars staring in the 90s, because the Japanese copied. Right.

And you, sir, sound very much like a racist jerk.

ztoa789 in reply to JOseph-hit

Wow, our free media?

Who told you media works for you? media.

If your opinion is not what they like, will your opinions get public attention? No, they will censor it.

You do have free press, but not free speech, as free speech is meaningless if you can't let public hear you, which is under the control of media.

You are free cuz you only say what they want you to say, that is, blame everything on government, (leave the rich alone).

ztoa789 in reply to JOseph-hit

That is simple:

"free" medi a controls 99% of the information, they don't like the system in China because they are no body under that system. Therefore people in "free" only see the bad side of system, and never see the fundamental flaws of their system.

For example, have you ever thought that western democracy was the reason for widespread debt issue?

I bet you didn't, as "free" media didn't say so.

ztoa789 in reply to JOseph-hit

I don't think you know anything other than what "free" media wants you to know. You only say what "free" media want you to say.

Did you ever say anything your media doesn't like?

Of course it never occurs to you that in "free" world, it is rich own media that controls information, not government. Therefore bashing government doesn't prove anything.

BanYan999 in reply to JOseph-hit

I am asking you what do you know about Nanking Massacre? No more no less, obviously you know nothing. That was the whole background of obstacle Sino-Japanese relationship.
Stop lecturing Chinese people about Chinese history.

It is sad often that such discussion will always tainted by nationalistic views. Let me put this simply:

Any nationalistic/racist/highly ideological presentations of opinion actually makes the opinion less creditable. Stop appealing for emotion and ego, start using common sense, and your argument will be nicer. This isn't just about this article; such arguments tend to appear when the topic involve immigration policy, GOP, blah blah blah.

JOseph-hit in reply to yolanda77

Hope what u said can be realized in this country. BUT:WHAT I WANNA SAY IS: What really matters is not what they say,but what they do. I don't care their words ,because politicians are lier. U never know what exactely they are going to do.


Wen jiabao is one of the most be-loved Prime Minister. If you don't understand what he really means when he said about hoping people forgeting about him, You just make yourself look ignorant and stupid

Paulo Sérgio

Side note on Wen Jiabao. I haven't seen a single reference to Mr Jiabao's wealth accumulation in any text on Mr Zuma's Nkandla compound.


Isn't Camp David a compound? Weird.


It is high time for political reform!?

If Premier Wun is listed for further professional criminal investigation and possible prosecution of corruption in case there is adequate evidence for sustainable allegation, then it would be the best showcase of strong will to reform. China is really determined to institute political/legal reform to fix the most threatening instability factor in the legitimacy of the ruling of the communist party.

1.3 billions of Chinese should be cheering up!!!

alex65 in reply to Sentinelese

Thanks for the response. I have refrained from commenting on China's interactions with her neighbors (except Japan) simply because I know I can be biased.

Your clinch to "barbarian" is getting old. It is true in the old China "barbarians" were used but the term is not used at all in contemporary China. Most learned people know it is a derogatory term coming from previous Chinese chauvinism. Maybe you should move on too?

Bismarck888 in reply to Bardamu

I did not explain carefully. The Five Year Plans in China are mere guidelines, unlike the Five Years Plans they have in the Soviet Union. The Five Year Plans in China are global in nature, ie GDP growth. It does not drill down sector by sector, like now many roads, steel, condoms, etc have to be produced.

What I meant that there is little the Party Chief can do, what I should have said is there is little a Party Chief can do if he has been parachuted in for 2-5 years. Local bureaucracies, local elites and conditions constrain him. Most of what Wang Yang did in Chongqing was superficial in nature. How much of what Wang Yang is proposing is from the local bureaucrats themselves? Take for example, Wukan, you have a situation that has been festering for over a decade. You have foreign / Hong Kong media pouring in, villagers setting up press office etc. You put it in another province, the response would be different.

As for Bo Xilai, he is extraordinary, its equivalent of Boris Johnson deciding to became of Liverpool. Do you think a typical Party Secretary could secure massive loans for Chongqing, put his own thug as police chief?

You can learn more about how government in China works by reading about on decentralization in China. Here is a good slide show


Here is a book on it.


Alot of people spend alot of time reading newspapers, magazines, books by faux-China experts, books by historians of China who's area of expertise has nothing to do with Modern Day China. Its like eating cotton candy or if you are Indian eating Gulab Kamun, its entertaining, but you don't really gain a better understanding.

What makes China different from say other developing countries, is the local governments (district/provincial) in most parts of China are strong. Even in the 1980s, when China was poor, local governments had the ability to raise their own taxes, maintain and build simple irrigation systems, village roads etc. The same bureaucrats who are responsible for China's economic success, where the same bureaucrats who were responsible for carrying out the Great Leap Forward to its successful conclusion (with a heavy dose of sarcasm).

A more centralized system requires far greater skill, qualifications than to run a decentralized one. The people in the National Development Board in Indonesia during that period would have qualifications that would put even top level Chinese bureaucrats to shame. They had PhD's from top Western Universities in such fields as Engineering, Economics, Statistics, Agronomy, Urban Planning. They were the elite of the Indonesian bureaucracy

The decentralized system in China is very much a product of Mao. The first major push toward decentralization was in the mid 1950s. Ironically China was decentralized further by the Great Leap Forward and setting up self contained communes.


There is a chart in the document, that described the process of decentralization of revenue.

When the reforms started, the system was already in place.

BanYan999 in reply to Sandaman

Your Emperor and Japan government did not apologized, and German government did. That is the different.

When Japan really regret then President Li will not request Japan such repeatedly in different occasions. Even ask Emperor to apologize.

There was no concrete evidents that Nazi killed 6 millions Jewish too, what is the different when you killed 1 million or 6 millions? You are still a Murder.

When no proofs of "Comfort women", why civil organization paid compensation to survived-Korean "Comfort Women"?


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