Abstract: Compiled and commented by Michal Meidan based on:* Xie Tao,((1) democratic socialist model and the future of Yanhuang Chunqiu, no. 2, February 2007.* Wu Min, Without democracy, there is no Communist Yanhuang Chunqiu, no. 3, March 2007.* Jiang Xun, Democracy is making slow progress but taking its first steps in Yazhou Zhoukan, 10 June.* Shen Baoxiang, Socialism with Chinese characteristics is our banner, Xuexi Shibao, 18 July 2007.Between March and April 2007, the journal Yanhuang Chunqiu (China across the ages) published a series of articles calling for the pursuit of democratic reform and the liberalisation of the press. Founded in 1993, the journal is backed by Party elders who adopt rather reformminded positions but whose career paths have all passed through the official press organs.The series of articles has reportedly provoked a feverish debate at the heart of the political leadership,((2) but no official condemnation or reaction was issued against the authors or the journal itself, and it has not seemed to suffer from publishing the articles, according to its editor-in-chief Du Daozheng. Nevertheless, the second issue, dating from February was noticeable by its absence on the journal's website... By calling for the establishment of democratic socialism in China, following the example of the political systems of northern Europe, the article by Xie Tao was the most audacious in its aims. reform of the political system can no longer be deferred, he writes, a constitutional democracy can solve the problems of corruption that have affected the ruling Party, and only democratic socialism can save He continues his argument by maintaining that the history of the twenty-first century has been marked by a competition between three political systems: capitalism, communism and Swedish-style democratic socialism. Democratic socialism has, according to him, triumphed over the others. It has, furthermore, transformed both communism and capitalism. Thus, to pursue economic reforms under a Maoist system can only lead China into a disastrous bureaucratic capitalism, comparable to the failed experiences of the Kuomintang and Chiang Kai-shek's Republic of China.Moreover, Xie Tao believes that Marx and Engels, towards the end of their lives, adhered to the idea of democratic socialism, thus abandoning the violent revolution described in their Communist Manifesto.The article by Wu Min is, in this context, less daring in its recommendations. While its title seems provocative, its intentions are rapidly cloaked in a more politically correct rhetoric. While predicting that the Communist Party cannot last without democracy, he nevertheless deems that it has endured up to now because it fundamentally encompasses the notion of democracy and embodies the aspirations of the people to become their own masters. He traces the presence of this democratic notion in the Communist Party back to the speeches given by Mao Zedong in the 1940s and to the texts relating to the founding of the People's Republic of China. The creation of a communist party would not have been possible without the existence of a democratic discourse in China at this time, he continues, or without an intellectual ferment surrounding the notion of democracy.In contrast, the Soviet Communist Party failed precisely because of its inability to integrate the goals of liberty and democracy in its discourse as well as in its exercise of power. The goal of the Chinese Communist Party is thus to guide the Chinese population and to sustain it in its effort to become an association of free individuals, master of the country and of society. …
Publication Year: 2007
Publication Date: 2007-01-01
Language: en
Type: article
Access and Citation
AI Researcher Chatbot
Get quick answers to your questions about the article from our AI researcher chatbot