2012-02-24

Reformers getting noisier in China......and also more popular

Liberals on rise, in words if not deeds
"In the course of reforms, the scary thing is not the voices of opposition, but for the reform to halt immediately whenever there are opposing voices," it said.

The commentary said policymakers should be willing to touch on sensitive and difficult areas for reforms because "the easy reforms were almost done and what remains are the tough ones that cannot be avoided."

Although the commentary did not elaborate on the "tough" areas, advocates have long called for democratic reforms, as the past 30 years has focused on economic reform.

"There are risks in reforms, but the party will be in danger if there is no reform," it said, echoing comments by Premier Wen Jiabao on a tour of Guangdong this month that the country "will come to a dead end without reform".
A lot of articles have been appearing in the Chinese press, Chinese blogs and on Weibo that are critical of the government's economic policy.

皇甫平对话吴敬琏:20年来经济处于半统制半市场状态 (Huang Fuping and Wu Jinglian dialogue: 20 years later, the economy is still half-market half-controlled)

Here is the wiki for Wu Jinglian and here's a NYTimes profile from 2009: China’s Mr. Wu Keeps Talking
Mr. Wu has not been interrogated, charged or imprisoned. But the fact that a state newspaper, The People’s Daily, among others, was allowed to publish Internet rumors alleging that he had been detained on suspicions of being a spy for the United States hints that he is annoying some very important people in the government.

He denied the allegations, and soon after they were published, China’s cabinet denied that an investigation was under way.

But in a country that often jails critics, Mr. Wu seems to be testing the limits of what Beijing deems permissible. While many economists argue that China’s growth model is flawed, rarely does a prominent Chinese figure, in the government or out, speak with such candor about flaws he sees in China’s leadership.

Huang Fuping is the pen name of Zhou Ruijin (there may be several writers using the same name). Here's a recent article on his ideas: Zhou Ruijin: reform and the way forward
Looking at the grassroots [of society] and online public opinion, you can see there is a strong base of support for reform. This must be leveraged, bringing the will of the Party and the people together [on reform] and promoting the innovation of social management. Like Guangdong, [we must] give priority to and promote social construction (社会建设), using government and civil society strength in coordination to resolve the complex problems facing our society in transition. Just as [Deng] Xiaoping said that year: “Once certain something must be done, we must dare to experiment, carving open a new path.”

皇甫平对话吴敬琏:20年来经济处于半统制半市场状态 There is a transcript of the dialogue at the link. There's also a 30 minute video of the conversation:



These two men have been saying the same things for 5-plus years. Their tone has gotten more urgent and they've found wider acceptance. A result of the social mood perhaps?

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