Party enhancing political capabilities - steadily
(China Daily)
Updated: 2004-09-21 11:46

For the first time in its 55 years in power, China's ruling Communist Party has made the "ruling capabilities of the Party" a major issue under discussion.

It did so last week during a plenary session of its central committee. The meeting opened last Thursday in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.

The Fourth Plenary Session of the 16th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), which is composed of 198 full members and 158 alternate members,discussed what the Party should do to make itself more capable of governing a country with 1.3 billion people, and the world's fastest-growing economy.

Political analysts believe the CPC's emphasis on its ruling capabilities is catering to the needs of the times, and that it will lay a solid foundation for China's long-term stability and prosperity, and for the Party's healthy development.

"In the new century and new stage of development, how to enhance the Party's ruling capabilities has emerged as a significant issue, with a bearing on the future of both the country and the Party," said Yu Yunyao, executive vice-president of the Party School of the CPC Central Committee.

The school is the Party's top cadre-training base and a leading think-tank.

The "ruling capabilities" issue has become even more compelling as China's reform and opening-up drive has entered a critical stage, with many deep-rooted problems starting to emerge and threatening to undermine social stability, Yu said.

"China's per capita GDP (gross domestic product) now exceeds US$1,000, but Chinese society is undergoing some outstanding stability problems," he said.

"The Party faces a double challenge of further promoting reform and opening-up, while consolidating its ruling status."

Despite its notable achievements and accumulation of rich experiences in governing the country over the past 55 years, the CPC still suffers from incompetent leading cadres, loopholes in governance and supervision and immature governing mechanisms, said Lu Xianfu, director of the Party building department of the Party School of the CPC Central Committee.

A recent survey conducted by the Party School, among the Party's leading cadres above the county level, indicated more than half of respondents lacked the ability to "make a scientific judgment of a situation," while more than one-third either "had difficulty tackling a complicated situation" or "totally lost their heads" in such situation, Lu said.

He cited the widespread public panic in the early stages of the SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) outbreak last year as an example of the government's inability to handle emergencies.

Political observers suggest the key to enhancing the Party's ruling capabilities lies in the promotion of democracy and the rule of law, as well as making the Party and the government more accountable to the people.

They note late Chairman Mao Zedong, one of the CPC's founding fathers and "the core of the Party's first-generation leaders," stressed the importance of democracy to the success of the Party's cause.

Deng Xiaoping and Jiang Zemin, at the core of the second and third generations of Party leaders, also spared no efforts in establishing rule of law in China, and they enshrined the principle of the Party "governing the country according to law" in both the Chinese Constitution and the CPC's Party constitution.

The CPC's new generation of leaders, who took over in late 2002, have followed suit. They have set forth the principle of "putting people first," embraced a fresh the "scientific concept of development" and promoted the building of a "transparent and responsible government" under public and media supervision.

During the past two years, the CPC has released six major documents to promote inner-Party democracy and reforms, and to tighten supervision over the Party's leading cadres.

Those documents included the Regulations on Inner-Party Supervision of the CPC (trial version); Regulations on Disciplinary Punishments of the CPC; and Provisional Regulations on the Open Selection of Leading Cadres of the Party and Government.

Displaying its eagerness to draw upon the experiences of foreign political parties, the CPC also hosted the Third International Conference of Asian Political Parties in Beijing.

The event was held earlier this month.

"As the CPC is now focusing on self-improvement, especially on its own ruling capabilities, many more positive changes are expected to take place in China's political, economic and social life," predicted Ye Duchu, a Beijing-based expert on Party building.

He said he believes the CPC will see major progresses in combating corruption, with ordinary citizens gaining an increasingly louder voice in political affairs and taking a more active part in democratic elections and government supervision.

The people's welfare will always be put first in government decision-making in the future, he added.

"As a capable ruling Party, the CPC will continue to promote China's political reforms in an active, yet steady, manner," Yu said.

"As Party General Secretary Hu Jintao said at a gathering marking the centenary of Deng Xiaoping's birth in late August in Beijing, the Chinese Communist Party has a key role in everything in China," said one political observer in Beijing.

"So, it's really good news for the Chinese people that the Party is taking the 'ruling capabilities' issue really seriously."

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