Ninety Years On, Communism in China Posted by Jacob Stokes

Today the Chinese Communist Party celebrates 90 years of existence (the China Digital Times has a good roundup here). FP’s Christina Larson reports that every public TV in the country is tuned into the festivities, whether people are watching or not.

This begs the obvious question: Is it still Mao’s party? The consensus seems to be, no, the Party’s fundamental nature has shifted from an organization focused on protecting ideology to one focused on keeping power.

Minxin Pei of the Brookings Institution explains: 

Yet if asked, “What does the Communist Party stand for,” few Chinese leaders today could give a coherent or honest answer. 

This much we know: It no longer stands for a utopian ideology. If there is one ideology that the party represents, it is the ideology of power. The sole justification for the party’s rule is the imperative to stay in power. 

Nor does the party stand for China’s masses. Despite efforts to broaden its social base and make it more connected with China’s dynamic and diverse society, the party today has evolved into a self-serving, bureaucratized political patronage machine. It is undeniably an elitist party, with more than 70 percent of its members recruited from government officials, the military, college graduates, businessmen and professionals.

Attempts to shroud the power-keeping motive have taken several forms in recent years, most famously as an ongoing competition between Maoist ideology and a resurgence of Confucian values. Jeffery Wasserstrom of UC-Irvine argues that it all boils down to the same thing (he also presents a very balanced view of the CPC’s record in FP here): 

There is nothing new about China being led by authoritarian modernizers who think that invoking “traditional values” can help them convince the masses that they believe in something greater than simply maintaining their positions in power. What is novel is that, at present, it seems to make little difference whether the “tradition” invoked is Confucian yellow, Maoist red, or a curious mashup of the two.

The Chinese people aren’t fooled. There's been progress, but it's largely unequal and riddled with corruption. That has the Party scared, writes David Shambaugh of Brookings: 

Instead of being secure and confident, [the Party] is seemingly frozen in fear of the future, unsure about its grip over ethnic regions (Tibet, Xinjiang, and Inner Mongolia), afraid of rising social unrest and ad hoc demonstrations, worried about the macro-economy and foreign relations, and on the cusp of a major leadership transition in 2012… China’s Communist Party at 90 is a bit like many 90-year-olds: increasingly infirm, fearful, experimenting with ways to prolong life, but overwhelmed by the complexities of managing it. 

This is not to say the Party sits on the verge of collapse. But it should put into perspective the China-as-ten-feet-tall narrative we’re likely to hear in the coming election.

Photo: China Daily

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We've seen many come and go. For how long can a govt continue to control its people? It's only a matter of time. The former Soviet Republic was the same until Glasnost and Perestroika spread like wildfire through initiatives by Mikhail Gorbachev. The Chinese govt knows it as well but are just about holding off and waiting to see what will happen. Sooner or later something will give. The fact that China has embraced Western Values means it is getting closer to a convergence on the ideal human values of freedom and democracy. That shouldn't stop them from preserving their cultural heritage. If anything, it will help enhance it as people will feel free to express their vibrant culture.

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All these China experts. "[the Party] is seemingly frozen in fear of the future." My, my. Seemingly frozen, indeed. I guess they're worried because they've got so many wars going on, their economy is lousy and they are deeply in debt. Wait a minute -- that's the U.S.; China is in opposite situations.

from Pew Research: "China may not be ripe for the kind of uprisings seen throughout the Middle East. Unlike the Egyptian public in recent years, the Chinese public has been overwhelmingly content with the direction in which their country is headed. In a spring 2010 survey by the Pew Research Center's Global Attitudes Project, 87% of Chinese said they were satisfied with the way things were going in their country."
http://pewresearch.org/pubs/1945/chinese-may-not-be-ready-for-revolution

Whereas, by contrast, in the U.S. only 28% think the country is going in the right direction (RCP ave.)[for reasons see above]
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/other/direction_of_country-902.html

These China experts need to get out more. Go to China and see their new infrastructure and improving economy, while the U.S. stagnates.

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