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12/1/1993 - "China’s Falsities & China’s Future: Part I - ""Calling Things by Their Real Names""" by Cheng Li

NoT FOR PUBLICATION WRHOt FI WRITER SCONSENT INSTITUTEOFCURRENTWORLDAbAIRS CHINA S FALSITIES CHINA SFUTURE Part I Calling Things Their Real Names Shanghai China December Mr PeterBirdMartin Executive Director Institute rentWorldAffairs 4WestWheelock Street Hanover NH03755 U S A DearPeter Ihadfeltblockwhentryingtowritefortwomonths noideasthatwent anywhere ThisdoesnotmeanthatIhadalackofmaterialstoreport Onthe contrary thereweremanyinterestingpeople interviewandnumerous fascinatingdevelopmentstocoverinthisrapidlychangingcountry Icouldnot however findawaytomakesenseofwhatIwitnessed Twocontradictory phenomenaespeciallypuzzledme First likemanyforeignvisitors Ifeltastrongsenseofdynamismand entrepreneurismasweobservedlifeinChina particularlyinitscoastalarea On recent China formerpresident ofColumbia askedhis tourguide aboutthenameofthecitythattheydrovepastincoastalChina Hewastoldthat citywasnew itwas identifiedeven Ihadasomewhatsimilarexperience InlateSeptember Iwenttoseea friendofminelivingonHuangheRoad whichwasanordinaryresidential streetin downtownShanghai ButwhenIvisitedhimagainontheeveofChristmas Ifound HuangheRoadwas unrecognizable dozens ofnice restaurants wereopenedthere itbecameoneofthree gourmetstreets meishijie inthe Cheng Li isaanICWAfellowstudyingthepoliticaleconomyofthecoastofChina Since InstituteofCurrentWorldAffairs theCrane RogersFoundation hasprovidedlong termfellowships enable outstandingyoungadultstoliveoutsidetheUnitedStatesandwriteaboutinternationalareasandbsues Endowed bythelateCharlesR Crane theInstituteisalsosupportedbycontributionsfzomlike mindedindividualsand foundations Inthejust publishedthirdvolume ofthe SelectedWorksofDengXiaoping Dengordered hisjunior colleagues inmatters ofreformandopeningChinato outside world shouldbebolder trythings outinstead ofacting likeawomanwithboundfeet Onceyouthinksomethingisworththeeff mustboldlytryitandblazeatrail ChinaDaily Nov Deng wordshave accelerated China economic reform program Amajor changeinChina sfinancialandbankingsystemhasbeenunderway Manylarge andmedium sizeenterprisesareexpectedtochangefromState ownedsystemtoa shareholding system years Dynamism however isonlyapartoftherealityoftoday sChina Onedoes notneed China expert Chinese politician tounderstand thatthe country actuallyledbyone person oldDengXiaoping chiefarchitect ofChina reformandopeningup Nooneseemstoknowwhatwillhappenwhentheveteran Dynwnismandstagnation orchangeandcontinui havebeenparallel forces coexisting China history Simon Lyes distinguished sinologist arguesthat isnotbychancethatthepoets painters andmysticsof ancientChinaappeartohavebeenconstantlyfascinatedbythe paradoxofthe waterfall whoseperpetualmotion suggestsperfect immobili InmyrecenttriptoSuz thegardencitynearShanghai Isawan inscribed boardinaspotwithbeautifulscenery whichsays Thosewhosee riversfeeldynamicwhilethosewhoseemountainssensethestatic confusedwhenrivers andmountains allaroundme leader Manypeople therefore wouldliketodonothingbeforehedies Potential investors foreign domestic aware ofthe economic risks associatedwiththe political uncertainties ofChina Inthesame anyambitious andwise politicians inthe Chinese leadership willprobablykeeptheirpolitical desireshidden Twoprevious appointed successors toDeng HuYaobangandZhao Ziyang successivelylost theirjobs becausetheyhadbeen oftouchwith China political reality Thefateofthisvastlandwithits 2billionpeopleisdeterminedbya90 oldman ShouldthistellusagreatdealaboutthestagnationofChina Anothercontradictoryphenomenonisevenmoreperplexing Inlate December memorial services across China commemorate centennialofthelateChairmanMaoZedong sbirth TheChineseCommunist Party organizedamassrall Beijing APartytop leader deliveredahour longspeechpraisingMaoas agreatpatriotandnationalhero HesaidthatMao Zedog thoughtswouldremain atheoreticaltreasure house forthe Chinese Communists spiritual pillaroftheChinesenationandaguide forbuildingChina intoasocialistandmodernizedcountry ChinaDaily Dec Similar rallies alsoheld Shanghaiandmanyother places Aten metre Mao statuewas unveiled andittowers above Shaoshan Mao shome Mao birthday happens after Christmas Collegestudentsin Shanghaiwereordered bythe authorities theyhouldnot organize parties celebrate Western religiousholiday In lateDecember regular programs Chinese televisionwere postponed Instead channelswerefilled commemorative programs The ReddestThingisthe Sun theMostBeloved PersonisMaoZedong MaoZedongandhis Son partseries Despitetheauthorities efforttolimitthecelebrationofthe ChinaHasaMao Westernreligioushol allchurchesinShanghaiwerefilled Zedong withpeopleonChristmaseve Mostofthemwereintheir20s Christmashasbecomea majorholidayinChina The Chinese especiallypeople ofthe youngergeneration sentChristmas cards other Millions cards country A scenepicturedabove isacollection ofcardsfor onChangLeRoad nearmyhouse Aboutaquarter centuryago asIrecall thisplace soldMao sportraits propaganda paintings andofcourse Mao Little RedBook Allfancyrestaurants Shanghaiwerefull Christmas A young couple theirdaughterand nieces stand infrontofChristmas decorationsattheShanghaiSheraton Hotel Iaskedthethreegirls whether theyknew anything about ChairmanMao Twosaid No Yes thirdsaid Mao thedeadSanta Claus SantaClauscanneverbe theeldergirlcorrectedher younger cousin aphony SantaClauscouMdie Commemorative essays published onthe frontpage ofall major newspapersinthecountry BoYibo aveteranrevoluti onaryandaformerPolitburo member wroteanarticleclaimingthatifMaowere stillalivetoday hewouldhave adopted reform policies thatDengXiaopinghas instituted inthe pastfifteen years That bol0ney AChinese historian saidwhenIaskedhimtocommenton Bo Yibo statement Thisstatementwasabsolutelyahistorical Onemightevenclaim ridiculously ofcourse thatifStalinhadbeenalive inthe 1980s hewouldhave beenveryhappyto seethe disintegration ofthe SovietUnion andthe democratization ofRussia historianaddedapiercingremark SinceMaodiedin virtually institutionsandpoliciesinChina thecommunesto colleges fromintellectual policyto industrialpolicy undergonefundamentalchanges Turningawayfromtheemphasison revolutionarycampaigns class conflict socialistplanning andideological indoctrinationthatcharacterized firstthree decades ofthePRCand especially CulturalRevolution Maoleaders inChinaunderthenewwatchwordof reform stressed political institutionalizatio economic development market mechanism social stability Although currentChineseleaders swear thatDengismis simplythe logical developmentofMaoism foreign reporter noted theyknow thattheyowe loyaltyeither toDengor chairman Theydo unless theyare mastersofself deception tobothMaoandDeng TheEconomist Dec Jan Why didthe currentChineseleadershiporganize suchagrand memorialservicetocommemorateMao DotheChinesepeoplereallyoweagreat chairman Maocertainlydeserves creditforhis roleandvisioninendingimperialismand establishingthePeople sRepublicofChina OntheeveoftheCommunistvictoryin millions ofChinese thoughtthattheywouldlive inanewstateunder ChairmanMao politicallystable sociallypure economicallystrong internationallyrespected In Maodidinfluencemorehumanlives profoundlythananyone ourcentury forheruledaquarterofmankindforaquarterofacentury Asthe Chinese authoritiesnow acknowledge formanyyears prior death Maowas seenasGodinmainlandChina ThisGod likefigure accordingtothecurrent Chinese leadership mademistakes duringthe calledGreatLeapForwardand Cultural Revolution Mistakes AnoverseasChineseman withwhomIhadachatinacafin Shanghai pointed thewordtome glanced atcommemorative essays inlocalnwspapers Hesaidwith anger twentymillionpeoplediedduring theGreatLeapF orwardandahundredmillion sufferedinthe CulturalRevolution Couldn amore appropriateterm mistakes refer causes these catastrophes Twenty million andahundred million thenumbers providedbythe ChinesegovernmentaftertheCulturalRevolution DuringtheGreatLeap Forward Maogaveundue prominence toheavyindustryat expense agriculture Theagriculturallaborforceinthecountry forexample wasreducedby percent Famine andnatural disasters aggravated shortage grain butthemain cause forthe ofpeoplewas Mao radical policy drive desire infinitepower Humansufferingwas themost distinguished aspect ofthe Cultural Revolution MillionsofChinesepeoplewerearbitrarilyarrestedandsenttoprisons labor camps andmanymore millions shipped offtoworkin remote areas Families werebroken careers destroyed andlives wasted Althoughmanyother factors these events Mao personal responsibilityforthecatastropheswasundeniable Nothingcouldjustifythelossof twentymillionpeople rationalizethe sufferingofahundredmillion about halfofthetotalpopulationoftheUnitedStates Butstrangely Chinahas continuedtopaytributetoMao AsaBritishsocialscientistnoted ofthis century sdeadtyrants Maoisalmostalonein stillbeinghonoredinhisown country Astatue ofMao along statues ofbeautiful women arefor thewindow ofthe Shanghai Orient Store AsmallnumberofpeopleinmainlandChinadidvoice theirconcernsand resentmentaboutthememorialactivities Well knownwriterssuchasBaJin Bing Xin andZhouGuchen gwrote ajointletter Central Committee ofthe Chinese CommunistParty Theyclaimedthatanycommemorativeactivitiesattributedto Maowould turnbackthewheelofhistory ChengMing No Oct AyoungShanghai writerremindedreaders nationwhichhas memoriesisdoomedtobeatragicnation WenhuiDaily Nov Agreatmajorityofpeoplehere Shanghai however seemedtobe indifferenttothegovernment sattempttocelebrateMao s100thbirthday They weremoreinterestedinthingsthatcouldhelpthemmakemoney Maooccurredto themonlyiftherewasamarketvalue AShanghaiwatchfactoryproduced10 commemorative watches ofMao overtwothousandyuan US Thecostofthewatchwasonlyabouttwohundredyuan WhonowcaresaboutMaoorMarx We reonlyconcernedaboutmarket andmoney amanagerofthewatchfactoryspoketomeinEnglish Theyearof willbe theYear ofthe Mouse intheChineselunarcalender regoingto producealotofgoodswiththeimageofamouse Heasked Doesthismeanthat welike I wasamazedbythewaythatthisfactorymanagerexpressedhisideas He absolutemaster ofEnglish vocabulary Some people weremore respectful chairman factory managerwas IheardthatcabdriversincitiessuchasShenzhenhaveoftenstuck sportraitonthecornerofthetaxi sfrontwindow InShanghai Ioccasionally tookcabswithaMaopicture OnceIaskedacabdriverwhyhedidso Mao isapatronsaint shouhushen whocanblessandprotectmefrom adversity answered Thecabdriverwasinhismiddle40s Iwassocuriousabouttheseriousness ofhistonethatIaskedhimtotellmeabouthis lifeexperience Hewasbornina worker sfamilyinShanghai Asateenagerwitha redfamily background enthusiasticallyparticipated intheRedGuardmovementwhenthe Cultural Revolutionbeganin1966 Butthreeyearslater likemillionsoftheRedGuards rusticated aremote Jiangxi province towork peasant Iexperienced allkinds ofdifficulties inthe countryside weworked dayandnight butstilldidn thaveenoughfoodtoeat Ihadnightmaresof starvationalmosteverynight SometimesIdreamedthatIwasgoingtoeata pieceoffatmeat Hetoldmethathedevelopedafondnessforfatmeatwhichhe stillhas Hedidnotmovebackto Shanghai untiltenyears later whenhewas allowed tosucceedhisfather sjobinasteelfactory Hemarriedatextileworkerwitha similarlifeexperiencewhenbothwereintheirmiddle30s Theynowhaveaten Hetoldmethathe started drive taxitwo years because wanted earnmoremoneyso wouldhave better lifethanhe Howdoyouspendmoneyonyourson Iasked NowI mabletoearnabout1 500yuan US amonth ifIwork12 hoursadayandsevendaysaweek Ihavehh edthreecollegestudentstobetutors formyson TheyteachhimChinese calligraphy andarithmeticrespectively I tutor month Thatamountishalfyourmonthlysalary IwantedtomakesurethatI heardhim correctly Whydon tyouoryourwifeteachyourson Icontinued Itshouldn difficult teach these subjects child Tobe honest bothmywife almost illiterate hewas somewhat embarrassed Iguessyouarefromabroad youprobablyhaven theardofthe generation MywifeandIbelongtothatgeneration Hesaidinamatter Ihavealwaysenjoyedchattingwithtaxidriversduringtheride Their ideasandremarksseem bemore revealing those ofgovernment officials I certainlyknewtheterm generation whichrefers totheyoungpeople whogrewupduringthe CulturalRevolutionandlostformal schoolingbecause ofthe CulturalRevolution ButwhatIdidn tunderstandwashisfavorableattitude towardsMao thepersonwholaunchedthis revolution Doyoureallythinkthatyouowe somethingtoMaoandthatyouneedHis blessing I asked Mywifesaidthesamethingtometheotherday hesaid Sheoftenmade funofmeforstickingMao sphotoonthewindowofthetaxi ShearguedthatMao couldn teven protecthis adversity Hereferred episodewhen Jiang Qing Mao committed suicideinprison afewyears Butanyway IlikeMao hewas apowerfulle aderwhenhewas alive Corruptionandinflationwerenotprevalentunderhim Thetaxi driver stone seemed conclusive statement Wedidn tsayanythingintheremainingfifteenminutes ofthe This conversation however occurred tomemanytimes inthe pastfew weeks TheCulturalRevolutionnotonlyhadadestructiveeffectonthegeneration ofthetaxidriverandhiswife whohave stillnotrecoveredfromitaquarterofa centurylater butalsohascontinuedtoaffectthenextgeneration Howcoulditbe possible thatpeoplewholostthe opportunityofreceiving abasic educationand experiencedallkindsofhardshipsintheprimitiveruralareasare stillunwillingtobe critical ofMao Astonishing isthewordthatProfessorLucianPye aChinaexpertat MITandadistinguishedmemberofourinstitute usedinexpressinghisimpression whenhe studiedthementalityofthe Chinesepeople duringthe Cultural Revolutionera PyefoundthatthosewhohadsufferedfromtheCulturalRevolution usuallyapathetic about their experiences catastrophi Ifpeoplewhowereunjustlyjailed foradecadewillnotcriticizewhatwas tothem LucianPye askedforcefully whyshouldthe Chinese authorities worryaboutthe future TheChineseauthorities however doworryaboutthefuture Atasmall dinnerpartyheldbyprivate entrepreneurs Imetahead ofanindustrialbureauin Shanghai Itseemedoddthathe asahigh rankinggovernmentofficial cameto suchanordinarygatheringoflocalentrepreneurs WhenIaskedhimaboutthis gavemea straightforward answer Iamalready59yearsoldandwillretireverysoon Itisagoodideatohave manyfriends inboththepublic andprivate sectors Hethenloweredhis voice Ineedprotection future Protectionforthefuture Thismaywellreflectthementalityofsome Partyandgovernment officials present Agreatnumber ofChinese officials havesuddenlychangedtheiridentifiesfrombureauheads jiizhang Party secretaries shuji tochairmenoftrustees dongshizhang orgeneralmanagers zongjingli Undereconomicreform theyhavemadea greatleapforward privatization ofChinese enterprises According totheNewsAgencyofthe Chinese government there casesofcorruptionandbriberyreportedinthefirstfivemonthsof1993 For example themayor ofRuzhou Henanprovince arrestedbecausehe received over600 000yuan US inbribes Hehadbeenofferedaluxuriouscarto usewhenheretiredfromthepostofmayor Furthermore hehadusedbribery moneyto purchase expensive apartmentunder thename ofhis grandson Minzhu fazhi No Chilch enofhigh rankingleaders inthePRChave inherited powerfuland wealthypositionsfromtheirparents Accordingtoarecentlyconductedsurveyof children ofmore 700PRCcentral provincial leaders about officialpositions abovethegovernmentbureau ormilitary division level Another900 principal leaders oflargeandmiddle state owned enterprises Thenumberofchildrenofhigh rankingofficialswhoareinchargeofmajor privateorjointventuresisunknown Butitiswidelyrecognized bothinChinaand abroad China major private private companies usuallyledby childrenofhigh rankingofficials FormerVicePresidentofthePRCWangZhen WangJun forexample isPresidentofChina sInternationalTrustand Investment Company This notnecessarilymeanthatchildrenofhigh rankingleaders usuallycorrupted Butnepotismdoesoftenleadtotheabuseofpower Corruption grown suchhuge proportions SecretaryGeneral ofthe PartyJiang Zeminwarnedlastyearthatitwouldruin theCommunistPartyitself Aforeign journalistobservedthatafewyears corruptionwaspettybriberyofafew dollars nowofficialsstealmillionsorbillions TheNewYorkTimes Sept Butinterestingly thosewhohavebeencaughtbytheauthoritiesarealmost exclusivelylow ormediumlevelgovernmentofficials In ajust finished studyofChina social conditions conductedbythe Sociology Institution ofthe ChineseAcademyofSocial Sciences CASS Chinese sociologists warned thatthe countrycould suffer significantlyifsocial agencies tokeeppacewitheconomicreform Theyaredthattheadjustmentof administrative andlegal systems social insurance behind economic growth Theurbanunemploymentrate forexample increasedfrom2 4percentin This means urban unemploymenttotal hit4million ChinaDaily Dec Thegapbetweenthe richandpoorhas significantlywidened ofthe incomeurbanites andtownresidents inthe countryhold30 ofthe total savings Baokanwenzhai Dec ThestudybyCASS entitledThe SocialBlueBook consistsof22papersthatanalyzemanysocio political problemsofChinesesocietyinthelightoftherecenteconomicboom ChinaDaily Dec Dec Amainquestion aboutChina future seehowthe Chinese government copes withproblems corruption inflation andpolarization atthesame timeaccelerateseconomicreforms The authorities memorialserviceto commemorateMao asascholarattheShanghaiAcademyofS ocialSciences onlypoints irrelevance ofofficialpropaganda IsitanimportantruleinChina probablyeverywhere whocontrols thepastwillcontrolthefuture Iasked esandNo heanswered becausethis isthewaytodemonstrate powerandauthority Itis sincenoordinarypersoninChinacouldbesuchafool astobelievethatthe officialapplauseforMaois sincere Heillustratedhispointbygivingexamples Manycurrentleaders including DengXiaopinghimself werepersecutedbyMao OneofDeng ssonswasmaimed byMaoists duringthe Cultural Revolution Afew currentPolitburomembers exampleZhuRongii werelabeledthe rightist enemies ofthe people inthe Mao Letmecite saying continued Historyoften repeats twice first occurs tragedy secondtime farce HewasquotingKarlMarx Areyou sayingthatthe nation month longmemorial service commemorateMaoisafalsifiedevent Iasked Absolutely answerwas simple Isn itodd Mr Li youforgetthewayyo ugrewupin China scholarfrom ShanghaiAcademyofSocial Sciences Butthatwas duringthe CulturalRevolution thedarkage ofmodern Chinese history Nevertheless youhavebeenawayfrom China Hewasright Ihavebeen awayfrommyoldhomecountryfortoolong But beingawayfromChinaforawhilehasbottiadvantagesanddisadvantages The disadvantageisthatIneedmoretimetobecomefamiliarwithmynativeland The advantage I things perspective Well I saidtohim maybeyouhavelivedin situation longthatyoufail seethe oddities usingaChinese idiom jianguai buguai Maybe heresponded Despiteofallthesepuzzlingphenomena probablybecauseofthem Ifound thatIhavelearnedagreatdealinthepasttwomonths Everysocietyhasitsown oddities falsities Chinais certainlynotan exception AdamZamoyski scholar onEuropeanhisry wrote societiesbehaveandutter andunless happens tohave smattering ofthat quite literallymissing point WhatZamoyskymeantbythecode asIunderstand referstoparadoxesand contradictions oddities andfalsities which arefoundina certainperiod ofanation growth The notion national however suggests diversityandthe subtlety ofwhich student ofsocial sciences shouldbe aware analyzes agivencountry IgrewupinChina andbythatchanceofbirthplace learnedearly inmylife ofthe complexityofa countrycrowdedwithpeople ofvastly differing backgroundsandinterests IamgladthatIhavetheopportunitytoliveinChina again couple ofyears meetingpeoplewithvariousbackgrounds anddifferent views JohnKingFairbank thelatedeanofAmericanstudiesofChina wasright whenhe onehas acquaintedwith Chinese realizehowvery complexit It doubtthatChinahas significantlychangedunderDeng reform Changesarereal andinmanyaspects progressesaregreat Chinahashadthe world sfastestgrowingeconomyforthepastfewyears Thesocio politicallifeofthe Chinesepeoplehasremarkablyim proved Yet Idonoticevariousaspectsofinertia andstagnation ThefarceofcommemorativeactivitieshonoringMaohasreflected China falsities otherproblems present There nothingwrongwithboth Chinesegovernmentandthe peoplewho lookingforward future notbackwardto Anation future however oftendependsonhow itcomestotermswithitspastanditspresent Someone saidthat societycannot developnormallywithoutknowingwhere andwhatit Iwouldlike country comingofage cannotbe trulyrealized until itspeoplestartto callthingsbytheirrealnames Sincerely No Lane ChangLeRoad Shanghai 200040 China Fax 2474947 Received Hanover