2012-03-30

Wen Jiabao's revenge

I have never believed Wen Jiabao is the best actor in China. Many Chinese complain that Wen says good things, but nothing ever happens. Instead, his reform ideas have been stopped by internal forces (even financial reform was stopped in the mid 2000s because it would threatened the SOEs controlled by party members) and that the recent political changes are part of a greater shift towards Wen Jiabao's ideas. This article in Foreign Policy gives a detailed background into Wen Jiabao and his rise to power.

The Revenge of Wen Jiabao
Responding to a gently phrased question about Chongqing, Wen foreshadowed Bo's political execution, a seismic leadership rupture announced the following day that continues to convulse China's political landscape to an extent not seen since 1989. But the addendum that followed might be even more significant. Indirectly, but unmistakably, Wen defined Bo as man who wanted to repudiate China's decades-long effort to reform its economy, open to the world, and allow its citizens to experience modernity. He framed the struggle over Bo's legacy as a choice between urgent political reforms and "such historical tragedies as the Cultural Revolution," culminating a 30-year battle for two radically different versions of China, of which Bo Xilai and Wen Jiabao are the ideological heirs. In Wen's world, bringing down Bo is the first step in a battle between China's Maoist past and a more democratic future as personified by his beloved mentor, 1980s Communist Party chief Hu Yaobang. His words blew open the facade of party unity that had held since the massacres of Tiananmen Square.
Must read for anyone interested in China.

H/T: Vox Popoli.

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