Xi gives reform advocates cause for hope
Gary Sands says events during Xi Jinping's southern tour, in Deng's footsteps, augur well for change in China despite the failure of key reformers to make it to the top leadership body
The once-in-a-decade leadership transition in China last month left some analysts fearing for the cause of reform after key reformers Li Yuanchao, Wang Yang and Liu Yandong failed to reach the Politburo Standing Committee, China's highest leadership body.
Yet this week, Xi Jinping , who succeeded Hu Jintao as Communist Party general secretary, seemed to hold out promise for reform. In his first trip since taking over, Xi spent five days in Guangdong province, drawing parallels to the "southern tour" by paramount leader Deng Xiaoping 20 years ago that ushered in widespread economic reform. Deng engineered China's economic rise after the death of Mao Zedong in 1976, through championing the idea of "crossing the river by feeling the stones", or testing reform locally and, if successful, adopting it more broadly.
Xi's first stop, Shenzhen, proved a timely reminder of the need for urgent reform, as 3,000 workers at a local printing factory gathered to strike for more than eight hours.
While Shenzhen police were busy reporting that no roads had been blocked off for the sake of Xi's motorcade, the strikers blocked a section of an expressway, causing an extensive traffic jam. Crowds were reportedly dispersed by a large number of armed police, and several strikers were taken away and beaten.
Xi's trip was unhindered, however, and he visited a statue of Deng built to commemorate the late leader's visit. Xi's father, Xi Zhongxun , was a revered senior official hand-picked by Deng to help implement reform as Guangdong's governor in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Xi was shown on local television telling his entourage, which included retired officials who had accompanied Deng on his trip, that China must deepen reforms to perfect its market economy.
Xi met local officials, who raised issues about tax, financial and land policies. Xi's comments to "resolve the issues by strengthening the rule of law" may have resonated not only at the nearby printing factory but also with Wang, Guangdong's reform-minded party boss and a member of Xi's entourage.
Wang was thought to be out of favour after he missed out on a seat on the Politburo Standing Committee. He had eased restrictions on non-governmental organisations and won international plaudits for negotiating a non-violent settlement in Wukan , where residents took over the village following a land grab by local officials. Wang was elected to the less powerful Central Committee, along with Liu.