This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/06/world/asia/liberals-in-china-look-to-guangdongs-party-chief.html
The article has changed 6 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 3 | Version 4 |
|---|---|
| As China Awaits New Leadership, Liberals Look to a Provincial Party Chief | As China Awaits New Leadership, Liberals Look to a Provincial Party Chief |
| (about 13 hours later) | |
| GUANGZHOU, China — As the once-a-decade tussle over how to fill seats in the Communist Party’s supreme ruling body enters its final days, many of the nation’s beleaguered liberals are casting an anxious gaze southward to Guangdong Province in the hope that the top official of this booming export hub near Hong Kong might win a coveted spot in the central leadership. | GUANGZHOU, China — As the once-a-decade tussle over how to fill seats in the Communist Party’s supreme ruling body enters its final days, many of the nation’s beleaguered liberals are casting an anxious gaze southward to Guangdong Province in the hope that the top official of this booming export hub near Hong Kong might win a coveted spot in the central leadership. |
| Although his prospects have dimmed in recent weeks, Wang Yang, the provincial party boss who has cultivated a following by denouncing “entrenched interests” and promoting individual happiness over party perquisites, remains the reformist camp’s best candidate for counterbalancing the slate of colorless technocrats and conservatives who are likely to dominate the all-powerful Politburo Standing Committee that runs China. | Although his prospects have dimmed in recent weeks, Wang Yang, the provincial party boss who has cultivated a following by denouncing “entrenched interests” and promoting individual happiness over party perquisites, remains the reformist camp’s best candidate for counterbalancing the slate of colorless technocrats and conservatives who are likely to dominate the all-powerful Politburo Standing Committee that runs China. |
| But anxiety among Mr. Wang’s followers has been heightened by the impending retirement of Prime Minister Wen Jiabao, whose frequent pronouncements on democracy endeared him to liberal dreamers, even if his words proved to be largely empty talk during his 10 years in office. | But anxiety among Mr. Wang’s followers has been heightened by the impending retirement of Prime Minister Wen Jiabao, whose frequent pronouncements on democracy endeared him to liberal dreamers, even if his words proved to be largely empty talk during his 10 years in office. |
| “Wang Yang has become the main receptacle for the expectations and hopes of China’s reformers,” said Xiao Bin, a public affairs professor at Sun Yat-sen University here in Guangzhou, the provincial capital. | “Wang Yang has become the main receptacle for the expectations and hopes of China’s reformers,” said Xiao Bin, a public affairs professor at Sun Yat-sen University here in Guangzhou, the provincial capital. |
| Even if he is something of a political chameleon, Mr. Wang has become a torchbearer for advocates of free-market economics and quasi-enlightened governance, much the way his former rival Bo Xilai, the fallen party chief of Chongqing in southwest China, had been championed by the neo-leftists who crave a return of Mao-style populism. | Even if he is something of a political chameleon, Mr. Wang has become a torchbearer for advocates of free-market economics and quasi-enlightened governance, much the way his former rival Bo Xilai, the fallen party chief of Chongqing in southwest China, had been championed by the neo-leftists who crave a return of Mao-style populism. |
| With Mr. Bo having been deposed in a salacious murder and adultery scandal, Mr. Wang stands as one of the country’s few charismatic political figures. | With Mr. Bo having been deposed in a salacious murder and adultery scandal, Mr. Wang stands as one of the country’s few charismatic political figures. |
| “There’s always a degree of maneuvering over who may or may not be promoted to Standing Committee positions, but I can’t recall a time when we’ve been so focused on the prospects of one person,” said Joseph Fewsmith, an expert on Chinese politics at Boston University. | “There’s always a degree of maneuvering over who may or may not be promoted to Standing Committee positions, but I can’t recall a time when we’ve been so focused on the prospects of one person,” said Joseph Fewsmith, an expert on Chinese politics at Boston University. |
| For a variety of reasons, the Standing Committee, currently run by nine men, will probably be reduced to seven seats during the coming party congress, which begins on Thursday. With two spots already occupied by Xi Jinping and Li Keqiang, who are set to become president and prime minister respectively, Communist Party power brokers, including retired President Jiang Zemin, 86, are in the throes of a secretive political dance to decide on the remaining handful of seats. | For a variety of reasons, the Standing Committee, currently run by nine men, will probably be reduced to seven seats during the coming party congress, which begins on Thursday. With two spots already occupied by Xi Jinping and Li Keqiang, who are set to become president and prime minister respectively, Communist Party power brokers, including retired President Jiang Zemin, 86, are in the throes of a secretive political dance to decide on the remaining handful of seats. |
| Even though he is considered unlikely to make it to the inner sanctum this time, party insiders say that Mr. Wang, 57, will play an important role in the next government, perhaps as a vice premier, and that he is an odds-on favorite to ascend to the Standing Committee during the next round of retirements in 2017. | Even though he is considered unlikely to make it to the inner sanctum this time, party insiders say that Mr. Wang, 57, will play an important role in the next government, perhaps as a vice premier, and that he is an odds-on favorite to ascend to the Standing Committee during the next round of retirements in 2017. |
| A lifelong party stalwart and a current member of the 25-seat Politburo, Mr. Wang would not be mistaken for a Western-style liberal. He does not call for free elections, and he rarely strays far from the agenda set by Beijing. But at a time when the party apparatus has embraced a clenched-fist approach to news media censorship, rural unrest and demands for social justice, Mr. Wang stands out for his paeans to political liberalization and the virtues of American-style individualism. | A lifelong party stalwart and a current member of the 25-seat Politburo, Mr. Wang would not be mistaken for a Western-style liberal. He does not call for free elections, and he rarely strays far from the agenda set by Beijing. But at a time when the party apparatus has embraced a clenched-fist approach to news media censorship, rural unrest and demands for social justice, Mr. Wang stands out for his paeans to political liberalization and the virtues of American-style individualism. |
| “We should eradicate the wrong concept that happiness is a benevolent gift from the party and the government,” he said this year. | “We should eradicate the wrong concept that happiness is a benevolent gift from the party and the government,” he said this year. |
| Known for his cherubic smile and a refusal to follow the pack of party elders who dye their graying hair jet black, Mr. Wang, the son of a laborer, is fond of folksy sound bites that sometimes take aim at the party elite. Since his appointment as Guangdong’s party chief in 2007, he has called on provincial officials to publicly reveal their assets and ordered government departments to communicate with the public via Sina Weibo, China’s wildly popular microblog platform. | Known for his cherubic smile and a refusal to follow the pack of party elders who dye their graying hair jet black, Mr. Wang, the son of a laborer, is fond of folksy sound bites that sometimes take aim at the party elite. Since his appointment as Guangdong’s party chief in 2007, he has called on provincial officials to publicly reveal their assets and ordered government departments to communicate with the public via Sina Weibo, China’s wildly popular microblog platform. |
| In June, after one of several recent visits to Singapore, he returned home to extol the city-state’s soft-glove approach to authoritarian rule. “If China doesn’t reform,” he said, “we will be slow boiled like frogs.” | In June, after one of several recent visits to Singapore, he returned home to extol the city-state’s soft-glove approach to authoritarian rule. “If China doesn’t reform,” he said, “we will be slow boiled like frogs.” |
| When he was faced with an insurrection last year in the fishing village of Wukan, Mr. Wang displayed a knack for coolheaded crisis management: he called off the riot police, tossed out Wukan’s corrupt party officials and allowed villagers to elect a new slate of leaders. | When he was faced with an insurrection last year in the fishing village of Wukan, Mr. Wang displayed a knack for coolheaded crisis management: he called off the riot police, tossed out Wukan’s corrupt party officials and allowed villagers to elect a new slate of leaders. |
| Mr. Wang is often mentioned in the same breath as Mr. Bo, who also managed — at least for a while — to navigate the narrow space between party establishment and political maverick. Their jousting took the form of a debate over economic policy, expressed most notably in cryptic talk about cake — as a metaphor for China’s wealth. Mr. Bo argued for cutting up the cake and distributing it more equally; Mr. Wang insisted on first making the cake bigger. | Mr. Wang is often mentioned in the same breath as Mr. Bo, who also managed — at least for a while — to navigate the narrow space between party establishment and political maverick. Their jousting took the form of a debate over economic policy, expressed most notably in cryptic talk about cake — as a metaphor for China’s wealth. Mr. Bo argued for cutting up the cake and distributing it more equally; Mr. Wang insisted on first making the cake bigger. |
| With their forceful personal styles and flair for self-promotion, both Mr. Wang and Mr. Bo are controversial figures within a party that expects its leaders to be wooden apparatchiks. | With their forceful personal styles and flair for self-promotion, both Mr. Wang and Mr. Bo are controversial figures within a party that expects its leaders to be wooden apparatchiks. |
| Mr. Wang’s office declined to make him available for an interview. But party insiders who have followed his career, which includes his unremarkable stint as the party boss of Chongqing, say his reformist credentials are overblown. He has repeatedly tacked away from the expectations of bolder change that he himself encouraged, and even die-hard supporters admit that his vows to fight corruption, reduce the power of vested interests and increase government transparency have had, at best, mixed results. | Mr. Wang’s office declined to make him available for an interview. But party insiders who have followed his career, which includes his unremarkable stint as the party boss of Chongqing, say his reformist credentials are overblown. He has repeatedly tacked away from the expectations of bolder change that he himself encouraged, and even die-hard supporters admit that his vows to fight corruption, reduce the power of vested interests and increase government transparency have had, at best, mixed results. |
| “The thunder is loud, but the rain has been rather light,” said Mr. Xiao, the academic, who nonetheless counts himself an admirer. | “The thunder is loud, but the rain has been rather light,” said Mr. Xiao, the academic, who nonetheless counts himself an admirer. |
| Some of Mr. Wang’s boldest ideas — like shifting Guangdong’s dependence on cheap exports to innovative and environmentally friendly industries — came to naught. Meanwhile, critics say, he has used an iron glove during the past year in a cynical attempt to burnish his appeal to the leaders up north who will decide his political future. | Some of Mr. Wang’s boldest ideas — like shifting Guangdong’s dependence on cheap exports to innovative and environmentally friendly industries — came to naught. Meanwhile, critics say, he has used an iron glove during the past year in a cynical attempt to burnish his appeal to the leaders up north who will decide his political future. |
| He initiated an aggressive anticorruption drive that resulted in scores of arrests, and, more ominously, tightened censorship rules ahead of the party congress. And his decision to solve the Wukan impasse through peaceful means appears to have been a one-shot gesture, say activists who point to a spate of recent protests over illegal land grabs that ended in violence. | He initiated an aggressive anticorruption drive that resulted in scores of arrests, and, more ominously, tightened censorship rules ahead of the party congress. And his decision to solve the Wukan impasse through peaceful means appears to have been a one-shot gesture, say activists who point to a spate of recent protests over illegal land grabs that ended in violence. |
| Political analysts suggest that Mr. Wang simply adapted to the more liberal ethos of Guangdong, which is heavily influenced by Hong Kong, the former British colony that enjoys a measure of self-rule. Long a magnet for millions of rural migrants drawn to the region’s factories, Guangdong, with its 100 million people, is a weather vane for the social and economic pressures bearing down on China. | Political analysts suggest that Mr. Wang simply adapted to the more liberal ethos of Guangdong, which is heavily influenced by Hong Kong, the former British colony that enjoys a measure of self-rule. Long a magnet for millions of rural migrants drawn to the region’s factories, Guangdong, with its 100 million people, is a weather vane for the social and economic pressures bearing down on China. |
| In the early 1980s, the paramount leader, Deng Xiaoping, and his allies promoted China’s successful experiment with the free market here. And Mr. Deng returned in 1992 to symbolically swat back the party conservatives who threatened his reforms. | In the early 1980s, the paramount leader, Deng Xiaoping, and his allies promoted China’s successful experiment with the free market here. And Mr. Deng returned in 1992 to symbolically swat back the party conservatives who threatened his reforms. |
| “People here are proud of Guangdong’s progressive streak,” said Ding Li, a senior researcher at the Guangdong Academy of Social Sciences. “We are also happy to be far away from Beijing — and the least controlled by it.” | “People here are proud of Guangdong’s progressive streak,” said Ding Li, a senior researcher at the Guangdong Academy of Social Sciences. “We are also happy to be far away from Beijing — and the least controlled by it.” |
| In addition to a few pilot projects that reduced red tape and shrank an unwieldy bureaucracy, Mr. Wang’s most notable accomplishment was to ease the restrictions that hobble nongovernmental organizations in much of China. | In addition to a few pilot projects that reduced red tape and shrank an unwieldy bureaucracy, Mr. Wang’s most notable accomplishment was to ease the restrictions that hobble nongovernmental organizations in much of China. |
| The changes have led to a flowering of local civil society groups, but the reforms appear to have come with some caveats. In Shenzhen, labor rights advocates say they have been dogged by local officials who object to their work and who they say forced seven such groups out of their offices. | The changes have led to a flowering of local civil society groups, but the reforms appear to have come with some caveats. In Shenzhen, labor rights advocates say they have been dogged by local officials who object to their work and who they say forced seven such groups out of their offices. |
| “His words sound sweet to the ears, but they are hollow,” Guo Feixiong, 46, a human rights advocate who recently emerged from a five-year prison term, said of Mr. Wang. | “His words sound sweet to the ears, but they are hollow,” Guo Feixiong, 46, a human rights advocate who recently emerged from a five-year prison term, said of Mr. Wang. |
| If Mr. Wang does not make it onto the Standing Committee, some analysts say, it will be an indication of the waning influence of departing President Hu Jintao as well as Mr. Wen, who has been one of his most vocal supporters. | If Mr. Wang does not make it onto the Standing Committee, some analysts say, it will be an indication of the waning influence of departing President Hu Jintao as well as Mr. Wen, who has been one of his most vocal supporters. |
| Mr. Wang’s rise may well be hamstrung as well by his relative youth. If elevated now, he could serve three five-year terms on the Standing Committee, which, apparently in the minds of some party elders, would allow him to amass too much power. | Mr. Wang’s rise may well be hamstrung as well by his relative youth. If elevated now, he could serve three five-year terms on the Standing Committee, which, apparently in the minds of some party elders, would allow him to amass too much power. |
| For the moment, members of China’s urban intelligentsia and the disenfranchised farmers who see him as their champion have been left to fret and speculate. Many, like Liu Zhengqing, 48, a rights lawyer in Guangdong, are fully aware that Mr. Wang may simply be a political pragmatist dressed as a liberal. | For the moment, members of China’s urban intelligentsia and the disenfranchised farmers who see him as their champion have been left to fret and speculate. Many, like Liu Zhengqing, 48, a rights lawyer in Guangdong, are fully aware that Mr. Wang may simply be a political pragmatist dressed as a liberal. |
| “I admit that Wang Yang isn’t a great reformer,” Mr. Liu said, “but considering the other leaders out there, he is the best hope we have.” | “I admit that Wang Yang isn’t a great reformer,” Mr. Liu said, “but considering the other leaders out there, he is the best hope we have.” |
Patrick Zuo contributed research. | Patrick Zuo contributed research. |
| This article has been revised to reflect the following correction: | This article has been revised to reflect the following correction: |
| Correction: November 12, 2012 | Correction: November 12, 2012 |
An | An earlier version of this article erroneously attributed a distinction to the three five-year terms Wang Yang could serve on the Politburo Standing Committee were he elevated to the committee during the current Communist Party congress. Other committee members — most of whom were or were slated to become one of China’s top two leaders — have served more than two terms; a third term for Mr. Wang would not be “unprecedented.” |
| This article has been revised to reflect the following correction: | |
| Correction: November 12, 2012 | |
An earlier version of the correction to the article misstated Mr. Wang’s given name. As the article stated correctly, it is Yang, not Chang. |