ANALYSIS CHINA

LAW AND POWER

IN XI’S CHINA

Introduction

ABOUT by François Godement The Chinese have long been obsessed with strategic culture, power balances and geopolitical shifts. Academic institutions, think tanks, journals and web-based debate are growing in number and Absolute power obliterates legality, but even limited quality and give China’s foreign policy breadth and power challenges it from time to time. This issue of China depth. Analysis deals with the struggle between the law and party China Analysis, which is published in both French or customary rule in China. The issue is not unique to the and English, introduces European audiences to PRC: Tanguy Lepesant’s article in this issue discusses the these debates inside China’s expert and think-tank intense debate in Taiwan after President Ma Ying-jeou world and helps the European policy community used (or abused) his powers to wiretap a key rival and have understand how China’s leadership thinks him indicted for corruption. Meanwhile, in Japan, the Abe about domestic and foreign policy issues. While freedom of expression and information remain government is encountering opposition to its new law on restricted in China’s media, these published the protection of national secrets, which many people see as sources and debates provide an important way of an attack on civil liberties. And far worse, of course, is North understanding emerging trends within China. Korea’s regime – in December 2013, the country’s second- in-command, previously believed to be the key power figure Each issue of China Analysis focuses on a specific theme and draws mainly on Chinese mainland behind Kim Jong-un, was arrested in Saddam Hussein sources. However, it also monitors content in fashion during a filmed session of the ruling Workers Party. Chinese-language publications from Hong Kong and Taiwan, which occasionally include news and China and its top leader, Xi Jinping, are unique in that analysis that is not published in the mainland and they are able to develop a dynamic and expanding legal reflects the diversity of Chinese thinking. system, while at the same time holding onto the capacity The French version of China Analysis can be to deploy arbitrary power where they think it matters. accessed online at www.centreasia.eu. Xi could in fact be described as being on both sides of the fence, as demonstrated the Resolution and 60 Decisions from the recent 3rd Party Plenum. He favours both absolute pre-eminence for the Party and detailed attention to due process, whether administrative, regulatory, or legal. Marc Julienne details the origins and the workings of shuanggui, the extrajudicial system that the party uses to investigate 2 December 2013 CHINA ANALYSIS “princelings”, the children of former revolutionaries or top former revolutionaries of children the “princelings”, How can this balancing act be maintained? One of our of maintained? One be balancing act can this How Does this mean, as some say, that Xi Jinping isa closet Xi say, that mean, assome this Does Hu Yaobang.Onlyayear leader late son ofthe Dawei, the authoritarian party rulefromthetopandmarket-driven for voice outspoken most the was Dawei ago, Hu and ahalf also reaches He has disappeared. and tohiscurrentpolicies and debates constitutional cap to as away light a green radicals given these radicals? Orhashe anti-constitutional development. Just as the Great Leap Forward “walked on Great LeapForward“walked Just asthe development. family. One Xi to the has ties who businessman democracy China’s that Xiembraces by JeromeDoyon,shows detailed out to politically liberal “red princes”, including one pro- princes”, including liberal“red to politically out reformer? Could he even be “waving the red flag to fight to flag red the “waving be even he Could reformer? might add that today, in addition to a biography of Xi’s own of a biography today, inadditionto that add might membership card.allthewayto His rapportextends two legs”, he thinks his leadership and the party system will party system andthe thinks hisleadership he legs”, two usedto slogans Revolution Cultural the as flag”, red the term arrestandinterrogation. involving the sinsofitsownmembers,sometimeslong- intentions and actions are often unclear. Is he a target of a target unclear.Ishe intentions andactionsareoften succeed inspanningthedivide. Xi to opposition Left New in fact and types, Maoist stalwart Xi’s that explains Winckler, Hugo by discussed sources, his ownreformistagenda?Perhapsanotherfactorshould pursue in orderto left the have it,orcurryingfavourwith political liberalisationinsidetheestablishment. arguments? Anothersource, down liberalandlegalist put leaders, almost as if their pedigree was as good as aparty was asgood leaders, almostasiftheirpedigree father, Beijing bookshops display the autobiography of Hu autobiography the father, Beijingbookshopsdisplay be considered: Xi does not see a contradictionbetween not see be considered:Xidoes types of regime are therefore essentially different and 1. The constitutional government controversy cannot be merged: a “socialist constitutional government” (社会主义宪政, shehui zhuyi xianzheng) is impossible. The Hugo Winkler problem is also one of class: a “constitutional government” would necessarily be in the hands of those who control Sources: the means of production – in other words, capitalists. On Yang Xiaoqing, “A comparative analysis of constitutional the other hand, socialism has its roots in the people (人民, government and popular democracy”, Hongqi Wengao – renmin). The writer illustrates her position with particular Red Flag Manuscripts, 21 May 2013.1 reference to the philosophy of Mao Zedong. Editorial, “Constitutional government is an alternative means of challenging China’s development”, Huanqiu Yang Xiaoqing’s article was immediately reprinted in the Shibao – Global Times, 22 May 2013. paper of the Central Committee, the People’s Daily. Other op-eds soon followed, all agreeing with this conservative Du Guang, “The Seven Taboos, constitutional line of thought. The Huanqiu Shibao editorial was one government, and the ideological crisis – 2013 has such article. It says that there is no point arguing over a affected all three”, Dongxiang – The Trend Magazine, choice between “constitutional government” and “socialism Number 6, 28 May 2013. 2 with Chinese characteristics”, because the decision has Luo Ya, “Xi Jinping’s counter-attack against already been made, and China has opted for socialism. Liu Yunshan; a left-wing professor is forced to resign The decision was not easy, but it is now the fundamental 3 from Renda”, The Epoch Times, 22 June 2013. principle of China’s political system, so any move towards Ma Huaide, “What does the rule of law mean in China?”, constitutionalising the government is impossible. The Xuexi Shibao – Study Times, 5 August 2013.4 editorial also talks about another irrevocable decision, that Editorial, “The strange debate on constitutional of “governing the country based on the rule of law” (依法 government”, Chengming, 31 August 2013. 治国, yifa zhiguo). According to Huanqiu Shibao, “law” here means the constitution. Since the constitution already guides the authorities in exercising power, a constitutional Since the beginning of 2013, Chinese intellectuals have government is unnecessary. Du Guang, a liberal, responded been engaged in a media war that gives an insight into to this by saying that the Chinese constitution has no legal debates at the very highest level of power. The movement authority. Without a system to ensure its implementation, it has been dubbed “May’s reaction to constitutional is purely symbolic and has no force to guide the ruling class government” (反宪政的五月逆流, fan xianzheng de wuyue in its decision-making. huliu) or the “red month of May” (红五月, hong wuyue). The controversy has seen supporters of “constitutional Several conservative writers criticise what they see as government” (宪政, xianzheng) face off with those who illusory concepts imported from the West, including that favour preserving a “socialism with Chinese characteristics” of “constitutional government”. Chinese society cannot (有中国特色社会主义, you zhongguo tese de shehui zhuyi). develop based on an abstract concept that has no grounding Alongside the passionate exchange of ideas, the conflict is in China’s reality, because such a concept cannot take evidence of power struggles between different factions of into account the country’s true needs. “Constitutional the Communist Party. Du Guang says the confrontation government” is an empty notion. It is a mere symbol that signals an ideological crisis that is inevitable and that has anyone can use without really understanding its significance. been brewing in China since the beginning of the economic It represents a supposedly universal, though in actuality transition. Western, prescription for remedying all of China’s ills. The debate about constitutionalising the government is just a The conservative viewpoint distraction from the real issue of what should be done to improve China’s current political system. Luo Ya says that the public controversy began with the publication of an academic paper by Yang Xiaoqing The conservative thinkers often seem to see conspiracy all in May 2013, in which Yang rejects any form of the around them. For example, the Huanqiu Shibao editorial constitutionalisation of political power. Yang sets out to contains a veiled allusion to a plot. The writer suspects that prove that there is a fundamental incompatibility between foreigners have promoted the concept of “constitutional a “constitutional government” and “popular democracy” government” so as to set back China’s development. The (人民民主制度, renmin minzhu zhidu). Yang says this concept has been maliciously introduced to spread false incompatibility exists because the act of constitutionalising and counter-productive ideas. So, it must be handled with political power is a concept unique to capitalism. The two caution and carefully examined. Some commentators, 1 Yang Xiaoqing is a law professor at Renmin University, Beijing. including Luo Ya, see these highly critical articles as a direct th 2 Du Guang is a former professor at the Central Party School. criticism of some of Xi Jinping’s positions. At the 18 Party 3 Luo Ya is a journalist with The Epoch Times. Congress, Xi stressed the role of the constitution and the 4 Ma Huaide is vice-president of China University of Political Science need for political reform. and Law. 3 4 December 2013 CHINA ANALYSIS “Chinese dream” ( “Chinese ( “China atpeace” Xi praised constitutional government as “supporting the government as“supporting constitutional praised Xi Xi Jinping’sambiguousrole:targetorinstigator?

Chengming The great majority of the new leaders, at all levels of the of levels at all leaders, new the majorityof The great In response to the conservatives’ arguments, Du Guang says Guang conservatives’ arguments,Du the to In response fazhi fazi neixindeyongyu weiyuanhui and political elite. LuoYasaysthatYangXiaoqing’s and politicalelite. article and article ruling of the authoritarian regimetomaintainprivileges the a social, economic, transition. political, andideologicalThe Ma Huaidesaysthattheruleoflawbegantobepromoted to the in response was published Ma Huaide’sarticle Chinese elite, opposes the conservative position as merely conservative position the opposes elite, Chinese of thelegal the development to see seems president Chinese The liberalsandtheirapparentleader government whose conduct would be based on theruleof bebased would government whoseconduct changes inmindsetfrommanyChinesethinkers. crisis broughtaboutbythistransition, which willrequire of the expression one is just on constitutionalisation debate ( people” emancipation ofthe of therulelawinseveralregions,including development China has that out pointing by begins conservatives. He class. Du believes that at the moment, the constitution fulfils of China under Deng Xiaoping. Xi Jinping hastakena Xi Xiaoping. Deng China under of only the second function. He criticises Yang Xiaoqing’s function. Hecriticises second only the new interest in the rule of law, speaking of the need for a need interest intheruleoflaw,speaking new leadership. of itspolitical undergone arenewal recently Zhejiang and Hunan. Zhejiang and during theliberalisation system political within theChinese the reactionofaneliteafraidlosingitsprivileges. not provideforaconstitutional in power,butitshould those ways: itcan in two used can be constitution Chinese that the the 1982 adoption ofthenewconstitution.In this speech, the supporting structures his careerestablished throughout rule oflawinChinahas of the status that the this proves in 2012 at the thirtieth anniversaryin 2012thirtiethcommemorationof at the ( law” of “rule the of subject the that says improved. He system as very important. He notes that Xi Jinping has Xi that notes as veryimportant.He system at university.Masays law orsocialsciences state, studied serious rivalry for influence within the Chinese intellectual Chinese the within influence for rivalry serious to that cangivelegitimacy as asymbol accepted be should has caused a stormy reaction on the Internet as well as in as well as Internet on the reaction a stormy caused has for an tool a as can serve or it rights people’s protect to help print. Many bloggers and commentators haveevencalled print. Manybloggers point ofviewthathasinnatecontradictions:theconstitution limits its popular appeal. But this abstruseness hides a hides abstruseness But this appeal. limits itspopular the of an importantmember Guang, whoishimself law. Du law inZhejiang province ( 5 by law” ( by law” For example, Xi Jinping founded an advisory council on the rule of ) wasmuchdiscussedduringthe18 ). 法制中国 Huanqiu Shibao Huanqiu says that the legal debate’s focus on theory focus debate’s legal saysthatthe 中国梦 平安中国 , 5 fazhi zhongguo Du Guang quotes Xi Jinping’s speech Xi quotes Guang Du ). Du says that the conception of the of conception the that says ). Du 法治浙江咨询委员会 , zhongguo meng , ’s editorial for putting forward a forward forputting ’s editorial pingan zhongguo 人民发自内心的拥护 ). Ma says the new the ). Masays th , ) is going through ) isgoing Congress. fazhi Zhejiang zixun ) and“ruled , renmin 法治 , “apply the constitution” ( the constitution” “apply “constitutional government” According to Xi Jinping might be the target of this ideological unrest. Xi’s of thisideological Xi Jinpingtarget mightbethe Xi Jinping is backsliding on implementing the constitution. the on implementing Jinpingis backsliding Xi In this scenario, the president, having pretended to having pretended president, In thisscenario,the In August, University. Luo says the rivalry between Yang’s supporters rivalry between the University. Luosays Luo Ya’s article, written in June 2013, considers the idea that idea 2013, the in Juneconsiders Luo Ya’sarticle,written against corruption, Xi Jinpinghasgraduallymarginalised it says opinion. Instead,he public within a disagreement nor is neitherasimpleacademicdebate and heropponents assess each other’s isthat assess eachother’s strengths.Thesecondpossibility to beactingagainsttheirownleader.Thewriter and seem vocabulary quasi-revolutionary a use but members party are editorialist believes that the debate is based in deep-rooted is based debate that the believes editorialist The power. in exercising practice and conservative theory to sides both of for supporters a battleground debate revolt. It reasons forthe underlying possible two considers it. This row have instigated well Jinping might Xi debate, creating aconfrontationwithXiJinping. of the party’s top officials. Under the pretext of thefight of pretext the Under officials. top party’s the of of a violent confrontation between certain members of the of certain members confrontation between a violent of ( water reform”ofthepoliticalsystem out “deep 區 and “socialismwithChinese over achoicebetween decision hasalreadybeen characteristics”, becausethe writer says that the direction of this constitutional debate direction ofthisconstitutional writer saysthatthe main objective of Xi’s “clean sweep” ( sweep” Xi’s “clean of main objective might be the sign of a red elite that is viscerally hostile to any that isviscerallyhostile sign ofaredelite might bethe there isnopointarguing for socialism. trends inChinesepoliticalcircles, and thatitisindicative the statusquoin China. make This wouldtheconstitutional is evidence of an internal struggle within the party itself, the within of aninternalstruggle is evidence is not yet clear. But,likeother commentators, is notyet still closetoJiang Zeming. Luo pointsoutthatLiuYunshan, the number said tobereduceofpartycadreswhoare Renmin prestigious at Yang’sinstitution,the students support liberal views, in fact intends to initiate a return to to initiate intends liberal views,infact support claim, as of hispublic spite have voiced concerns about the values being taught to taught values being the have voicedconcernsabout has arisen less than ayearafterXiJinpingcametopower, in has arisenless made, andChinahasopted party members who were loyal to his predecessors. The loyal tohispredecessors. who were party members among some discomfort manoeuvring hascaused political political whose uniting cadresfromgenerations different political change and is determined to takeactionmaintain and isdetermined change political leanings aresometimescompletelyatodds. for thelawprofessor’sresignation. Some Internetusers for the controversy: rather than being a target of the media of the a target controversy: ratherthanbeing for the , gaige deshenshuiqu Chengming Huanqiu Shibao Shibao Huanqiu came up with another explanation cameupwithanotherexplanation 落實憲法 ) . The conservative commentators . The Chengming , luosi xianfa luosi 大扫除 reports, to want to reports,to Luo suggests Luo suggests controls the party’s controls the to Jiang, close constitutionalism, to censor’s power orchestrate the who is oneof who with the aim of the with media debate on media debate that Liu used the Liu used that officials these propaganda outlet. propaganda , da saochu Chengming ) andtocarry 改革的深水 ) is ’s

political class. 2. Xi Jinping and the Princelings The whole affair is complicated by the emergence of “Document No. 9” (九號文件, jiuhao wenjian), which is Jérôme Doyon supposed to have been supported by Xi Jinping.6 This document, a memorandum from the General Office Sources: of the CCP denouncing the risks posed to the party by Na Xiongnu, “The princeling faction and its influence concepts such as the rule of law, takes the conservative on Xi Jinping, I”, Dongxiang – The Trend Magazine, side. It also identifies “seven taboos” (七不讲, qi bu jiang) No. 331, March 2013.8 7 that are forbidden for discussion. If Xi supported this Na Xiongnu, “The princeling faction and its influence document, according to the Chengming editorial, it could on Xi Jinping, II”, Dongxiang – The Trend Magazine, be evidence that Xi Jinping is moving closer to the left of No. 332, April 2013. the party. It would indicate that Xi is not the target of the Na Xiongnu, “The princeling faction and its influence anti-constitutional revolt, but in fact set it off himself. It on Xi Jinping, III”, Dongxiang – The Trend Magazine, would also show that China is not going to move towards No. 333, May 2013. democratisation or the rule of law.

These explanations are based more on rumour than on China’s president, Xi Jinping, is a member of a group of known fact. But the debate gives an indication of a divide descendants of Maoist leaders known as the “princelings” 太子 that could last for a long time – in part because of the ( , taizi). These princelings have risen to become emergence of a “new left” (新左派, xin zuopai) in China influential in their own right within Chinese government, and in part because Xi Jinping is a complex figure whose military, and academic circles. The Hong Kong-based political intentions remain unclear. magazine Dongxiang recently published a series of three articles looking at the influence of the princelings on Xi Jinping. Rather than accepting the simplistic view of a politically unified “princeling faction” (太子党, taizidang), Na Xiongnu emphasises the varying political opinions and different career paths of the princelings. By extension, he shows the diverse range of influences they exert on the president. Na does not concentrate on those princelings who became prominent officials, such as Bo Xilai and Wang Qishan, about whom much has already been written. Instead, he focuses on those in academia and the military, along with those whose influence is less obvious.

Princelings in academia

Na analyses publications from the Ministry of Propaganda and speeches by Xi Jinping to show the direct and indirect influence of the princelings on the president. He notes that the princeling Wang Boming wrote the 23 February 2013 text published by the Ministry of Propaganda, which stated that “imperfect reforms are preferable to a crisis arising from a lack of reforms”.9 Wang Boming has been a personal advisor to Xi Jinping since 2010. He first came to prominence in 1989 as director of the Stock Exchange Executive Council, which was at the time a reformist research centre. Wang Boming is the son of Wang Bingnan, who was deputy to Zhou Enlai when he was Minister of Foreign Affairs. Wang Boming is also a childhood friend of the influential princeling, Wang Qishan, who is currently 6 The full name is “Concerning the Situation in the Ideological Sphere” a member of the Politburo Standing Committee. In 1989, (关于当前意识形态领域情况的通报). The document was brought to light in August by the foreign press. Wang Boming took full responsibility for the Stock Exchange 7 The seven taboos are: “universal values” (普世价值, pushi jiazhi), Executive Council’s involvement in the student movement. “freedom of the press” (新闻自由, xinwen ziyou), “civil society” This ensured that Wang Qishan, who was also linked to 公民社会 公民权利 ( , gongmin shehui), “civil rights” ( , gongmin quanli), the organisation, was able to escape association with the “mistakes made in the history of the Chinese Communist Party” (中国共产 党的历史错误, Zhongguo gongchandang de lishi cuowu), “the bourgeois 8 Na Xiongnu is a journalist for the Hong Kong magazine Dongxiang. elite” (权贵资产阶级, quangui zichanjieji), and “the independence of the 9 “We accept the criticism, but there is no crisis”, People’s Daily, judiciary” (司法独立, sifa duli). 23 February 2013. 5 6 December 2013 CHINA ANALYSIS 派 Instead of condemning the traitors in public, Cao Cao kept Cao traitors inpublic, the condemning of Instead Kingdoms period, Cao Cao discovered letters from his letters discovered Cao Cao period, Kingdoms Na points out Xi’s strategy of openness towards neo-Maoists towards openness of strategy Xi’s out Na points are princelings liberal the although says that Na Xiongnu on China calling speeches Xi’s recent that says Na Xiongnu as agesturefromXiJinpingtoappeasetheneo-Maoists. ( princelings” for “reformist as amouthpiece a critiqueoftheStalinistmodel assemblies, itpublished of an advocate known as is who businessman a successful association with Wang Qishan means both princelings exert Mao Zedong. After the fall of the Gang ofFour,MaoYuanxin of the fall the Mao Zedong.After a Co Lae o te e Kndm uig h Three the during Kingdom Wei the of Leader Cao. Cao The neo-Maoistprincelings generals pledging their allegiance to his enemy, Yuan Shao. Yuan enemy, his to allegiance their pledging generals some still are there circles, academic in influence gaining democratisation. Qin supports his liberal ideas by drawing by ideas liberal his supports Qin democratisation. f i Lseg a eodgnrto rvltoay who revolutionary second-generation a Lisheng, Qin of of of one of the most famous strategists in Chinese history, in Chinese strategists famous most the of one of available athttp://www.wyzxsx.com. 10 remains minimal,appearance thispublic but Nainterprets 2012, in October reappeared takingpartinavisittoan of Yuanxin, anephew Mao of life public to return the notes within the party. NacomparesXi’sskilfulmanoeuvreinnot within the was purged and sentenced to 17 years in prison. He officially involved got he Boming, Wang for option an longer no was most of the princelings, and Xi is unlikely to adopt them adopt to is unlikely and Xi princelings, the of most career a political his career.Since movement andcontinue the newsofdiscoveryquiet andburnedtheletters.Na actions the with supporters on BoXilai’s taking revenge websites, main neo-leftist the support neo-Maoists these says writer BoXilai.The neo-Maoist, prominent most the temptation ofneo-Maoistideas. tank, the BoyuanFoundation,isincreasinginpolitical for liberal too aregenerally ideas His system. Soviet the son the is Xiao Qin Xiao. Qin of work the by inspired be to last Sovietpremier,MikhailGorbachev, taken bytheseem limited reformsin to implementorderavoid the path important hydraulic centre in Sichuan60yearsafterhis important hydrauliccentre fallof the of inspite princelings, neo-Maoist influential of thetwo inspired bytheideasofHans Modrow, thelastcommunist session the plenary before Just influence. think reformist Qin’s that believes Na But entirety. their in in chief in themedia,becoming,amongotherthings,editor some influenceoverXiJinping. sees Xi’s success in avoiding conflict with the neo-Maoist the with conflict avoiding in success Xi’s sees such as uncle first proposed the project. Mao Yuanxin’s influence MaoYuanxin’s project. the proposed first uncle of corruption and the China’s situation between parallels leader of East Germany. Na says that the foundation serves foundation Germany. the of EastNasaysthat leader fought together in Shaanbei in the Civil War. Qin Xiao is Xiao Qin War. Civil the in Shaanbei in together fought became close to Xi Zhongxun, Xi Jinping’s father, after they Jinping’s father,after Zhongxun, Xi Xi to close became Mao Flag is available at http://www.maoflag.net. at available is Flag Mao , Caijing taizidang gaigepai Mao Flag aaie N itmts ht ag Boming’s Wang that intimates Na magazine. and ), who want to warn Xi against the against warn Xi to want ), who Utopia Village Utopia . 10 In particular, Na Utopia Village 太子党改革 is

“returning the favour” ( “returning the Army (PLA)divided.XiJinpingmust are ideologically 18 Xi’s indulgence towards the neo-Maoists is seenas towardstheneo-Maoists Xi’s indulgence Yazhou a reputation amongthearmy’s Yazhou areputation hawkfactionof Japan and for political reform more generally. Na saysthat reform moregenerally. Japan andforpolitical Princelings inthemilitary Li Keqiang,whowassupportedbyHuJintao. Liu Yuan is the son of Liu Shaoqi, who was president of the son ofLiuShaoqi, whowaspresident Liu Yuanisthe Liurank Hu promotedtotheofgeneral,butlimithis islimited, relations Sino-Japanese on influence Li’s Association People’s Chinese Li ofthe Xiaolin ispresident Li Xiannian, of thePRC who waspresidentduringthe1980s. PRC between 1959 and1968. PRC Liubetween Yuanisalsoconsidered Na says that the princelings within the People’s Liberation People’s within the princelings the that Na says Na Xiongnu has interpreted Xi’s decision to include her in include to Xi’s decision has interpreted Na Xiongnu agenda or challenge the programme of reforms. Nabelieves of programme the or challenge agenda about Liu Yazhou’s growing influence within the army. the within influence growing Yazhou’s Liu about Communist Party’scontrolofthePLA and havegivenLiu corruption withinthePLA. to Their seems outspokenness University. commissioner oftheNationalDefenceLiu has political as position new a to air force the of commissioner concerned already Hu Jintaowas as leader, time his during one who would be abletobalancethevarious one whowouldprinceling only of leaders,JiangZeminknewthatXiJinpingwasthe of nationalising the army. runcountertothe of nationalisingtheTheseideas negotiate a path between the interests of moderates, such of moderates, interests the a pathbetween negotiate who has significant influence in the army. Liu isknown Liu the army. in influence significant has who made reformist comments about the need to develop an made reformistcommentsabouttheneedtodevelop that, given the growing tensions among the fifth generation the government’s oppose could notopenly the neo-Maoists to be a moderatevoicewithin thearmy. to be He hascriticised to containLiuYazhou, Japan tripaspartofastrategy the intra-partisan democracy, and he is thought to be in favour be to thought is and he intra-partisan democracy, political vice as role his from Liu transferred Hu influence strategist. sent to Japan within a diplomatic mission.Although a diplomatic Japan within to sent princelings as evidence that the president is aremarkable president the that as evidence princelings princeling, butheismarried to Liof Xiaolin, daughter factions. This allowed Xi to take the leadership over leadership take the to Xi factions. Thisallowed for his statements arguing for peaceful relations with arguing forpeaceful for hisstatements recently was She Countries. Foreign with for Friendship being “careerist”( within theparty. delicate balanceXiJinping among theprincelings,who the needtomaintainunity to reformthesystemand must strikebetweentheneed Xiongnu Na have enormousinfluence th Party Congress, when Xi was appointed party leader, party was appointed Xi when Congress, Party shedslightonthe 野心家 投桃报李 , yexin jia , toutaobaoli ). Liu Yuan,and Liu Yazhou is Luo Yuan. and those of and those as LiuYazhou, not himself a not himself Zhu Chenghu, Zhang Haiyang, Zhu Heping, and hawks, such as hawks, such ). Duringthe

have cost both Liu Yazhou and Liu Yuan promotions to the Central Military Commission during the 18th Congress. 3. Reviewing Party discipline in the shadow of Zhang Haiyang, son of former general Zhang Chen, was shuanggui another princeling who missed out on a seat at the heart of the PLA’s command structure. However, his exclusion Marc Julienne seems to have been mainly due to his links to Bo Xilai. Sources: Although Liu Yazhou, Liu Yuan, and Zhang Haiyang were Fan Xiancong and Gu Xiaoming, “Legal analysis of not promoted to the Central Military Commission, they ‘shuanggui’”, Fazhi yu shehui – Legal System and have all achieved the rank of general and are members Society, No. 5, April 2013. 11 of the Central Committee of the Communist Party. The Interview with Li Yongzhong, “What is shuanggui: a more hawkish princelings, who tend to be of lower rank, special system of investigative measures and methods”, are unhappy with the high status of these moderates. Sina Weibo, 19 October 2003.12 Zhu Chenghu and Zhu Heping, both grandsons of PLA founder Zhu De, are only major-generals. Ye Zhusheng, “Shuanggui, between discipline and law”, 13 Luo Yuan, son of former head of the Chinese secret service Nanfang Chuang – South Reviews, 10 June 2013. Luo Qingchang, was also a major-general before his retirement. Zhu Chenghu, Zhu Heping, and Luo Yuan In 2013, the Chinese judicial sphere was rocked by corruption have all made aggressive statements about Japan and scandals and by the efforts of China’s new president, the United States. In 2005, during a time of heightened Xi Jinping, to address the country’s corruption problem. tensions between China and the US over the issue of Taiwan, Some of 2013’s scandals were particularly high profile: Zhu Chenghu even said that China should consider a nuclear the trials of Bo Xilai, Wang Lijun, and Liu Zhijun made war with the US. These hawks cannot all be promoted at world headlines, as did investigations into senior Chinese once, but Na says that Xi Jinping must do something to Communist Party (CCP) officials such as Liu Tienan, Jiang manage the dissatisfaction of this faction within the army. Jiemin, and four members of the China National Petroleum Even if their provocative statements are mostly linked to Corporation executive committee. These investigations personal political ambition, this kind of belligerence could were led by the powerful Central Commission for Discipline have a negative impact on relations with the US and must Inspection (CCDI, 中央纪律检查委员会, zhongyang jilü therefore be curtailed. jiancha weiyuanhui or 中纪委, zhongjiwei). An internal organisation of the CCP, CCDI conducts its investigations In this series of articles, Na Xiongnu illustrates the complex using shuanggui (双规), a special process that falls outside dynamics within the group of princelings, which is often any legal framework. CCDI’s complete freedom of action seen as unified. He also sheds light on the delicate balance has led to serious abuses and to tragic outcomes for some of Xi Jinping must strike between the need to reform the system those under investigation. and the need to maintain unity among the princelings, who have enormous influence within the party. So, in spite of The origins and meaning of shuanggui the corruption that the president says threatens the survival of the regime, Xi must be extremely careful in his dealings The authors say that the origins of the shuanggui process with the princelings. Pressure from the neo-Maoists could can be found in two documents. The first, “Administrative be the reason that Xi tends to leave the promotion of a supervision regulations” (中华人民共和国行政监察条例, reformist agenda to his premier, Li Keqiang, and to redirect zhonghua renmin gongheguo xingzheng jiancha tiaoli), the blame towards Li when the agenda is criticised. was published by the State Council on 9 December 1990.14 The second document, “Regulations on case investigations by Chinese Communist Party discipline inspection agencies” (中国共产党纪律检查机关案件检查工作条 例, zhongguo gongchandang jilü jiancha jiguan anjian jiancha gongzuo tiaoli), was published on 1 May 1994. This

11 Fan Xiancong is associate professor in the Law and General Management Department of Yibin University (Province of Sichuan) and director of research in civil law and legal reforms. Gu Xiaoming is associate professor in the Student Affairs Department of Yibin University and director of research in the field of legal reforms. 12 Li Yongzhong is an expert in the fight against corruption and a former member of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI). This interview was originally published in the print version of Nanfang chuang – South Reviews. 13 Ye Zhusheng is a journalist with Nanfang chuang. 14 This document was replaced in 1997 by the Administrative Supervision Law (中华人民共和国行政监察法, zhonghua renmin gongheguo xingzheng jiancha fa). 7 8 December 2013 CHINA ANALYSIS “Double regulation” means that the discipline inspection discipline meansthatthe regulation” “Double regulations”, or “two Wang Lijun. Ye Zhusheng says that the place of detention can be a house, can be detention of place the that says Zhusheng Ye ( Two weeks after the death of Yu Qiyi, the media reported that The word offices and personnel shared have organisations two These Shuanggui a building,hotel,or even amilitarybase.Accordingto agencies define, at their own discretion, the time and location from the withdrawn can be membership appropriate, party CCDI and the Ministry ofSupervision( CCDI andthe give a dark indication of the methods used by the CCDI in by the used give adarkmethods indication ofthe a house is usually it so security, suspect’s the guarantee document issued by the CCDI in 2001, the location must CCDI in2001,location the by issued document or or destructionfabrication collusion withaccomplicesthe world, soastoavoid with theoutside cut offfromallties of the use the introduces document case andsentencedtobetween fourand14yearsinprison. Group, Investment Industry Wenzhou at engineer chief details These accidents. prevent to rubber with covered of evidence.TheCCDIisgivenallthetimeitconsiders disciplinary under investigation. Partymembers the of of BoXilaiand cases ordinary inthe courts, ashappened official under suspicion and jurisdiction can be given to the for applying organisations responsible of drowning”( out underthe reported numerous bruises on his body and saidhe“died on hisbody numerous bruises reported of YuQiyi, that was coverage media significant received necessary tocarryoutitsinvestigation. up ameansforcontrollingpartymembers, not onlytoset who died in April2013 died duringaninterrogationcarried who Zhe, Yethat professor attheCentralPartySchool,told member fallsundersuspicionandendswhenthesuspect the first time, six party officials were convicted afterthis wereconvicted officials party six time, first the its investigations and interrogations. It is easy to see why see to easy and interrogations.Itis investigations its indefinite an for locations secret in held are investigation or he when frequently, or, more – innocent be to proved is as soonaparty CCDI. begins by theTheprocess initiated say that a party member under suspicion is immediately is under suspicion member that aparty say it consider commissioners the Where guilty. found is she since 1993,yearinwhichtheirremitwasexpanded. the submerged several times in a bathtub full of iced water. For iced of full in abathtub times several submerged in after he“felltheshower” some reportssaidYudied that One case tragic results. have hadsuch cases some similar to astandardhotelroom, but withallsharpedges it asbeing sites. Shedescribed she hadvisitedoneofthese Jia Jiuxiang, of theIntermediatePeople’s vice-president under surveillance or the ground floor of a building. Lin abuilding. of floor ground the or surveillance under period oftime.Theoriginal intention of referred toas is alsosometimes process free from any interference. Fan XiancongandGuXiaoming from anyinterference. free but alsotoensurethatdisciplinaryinvestigationsremained 洗澡期间摔倒 shuanggui describes anthatis describes investigative process , 溺水死亡 shuanggui xizao qijian shuaidao qijian xizao liangzhi , means “double regulation”. The regulation”. means “double nishui siwang nishui process. YeZhushengsaysthat ( 两指 shuanggui ), “two designations”. ), “two ). But later versions later ). But ) after his head was his head ) after 监察部 shuanggui lianggui shuanggui process. The , jianchabu arethe ( 两 was 规 ). ),

“The use of ‘ “The use The 化 事诉讼法 5 ofArticle8theLegislationLaw ( 2012, states that “public security organs areresponsible security 2012, “public that states 2000 states that any restriction of freedom and any freedom any restrictionof 2000 that states Fan Xiancong and Gu Xiaoming say that say Xiaoming Gu and Fan Xiancong In terms ofabusescope,the By abuse ofauthority, By abuse thewritersmeanthat People’s Republic of Chinaisinviolable. Republic Nocitizen People’s shuanggui. agencies” ( agencies” provisions demonstrate these All or herself.” himself against application of sanctions must only be made as part of a as partof made be only sanctions must of application and excesses in the “scope of “scope in the and excesses ( authority” of “abuse abuses: jiwei jiguanshiyong “lianggui cuoshide banfa Chinese legalsystem,underminingthelawofstate. Court of Sanmenxia (Henan Province), had also died during died Sanmenxia (HenanProvince),also of had Court economic actors. Fan and Gu say that this wider application wider this actors. FanandGu saythat economic civil servants, non-party members, and evenprivate by coercion, evidence inducement,deceit,or collect any constitution states that “the freedom of citizensthe constitution statesthat“thefreedom citizen’s freedom is prohibited. Any unlawful investigation Any unlawful prohibited. is citizen’s freedom of the members, as party to apply to intended originally only means. other unlawfulNopersonshallbeforcedtotestify organisation, group, or individual hastherighttoexercise system, underminingthelaw of thestate. noted in a document issued by the CCDI inJanuary 2000: by the issued in adocument noted Shuanggui may be arrested except with a decision from aPeople’s a decision with except may bearrested the gap between the legal code and the methods used under used methods and the code legal the between gap the that “itshall same lawstates powers.” Article50ofthe these the individual rightsofcitizens. providedbylaw,noother as otherwise inquiries […].Except into acitizenisprohibited”.Moreover,paragraphs4and it was revealed that Jia it wasrevealedJiuxiang’sextensive body showed asaheartattack.Later, of death cause the initially reported signs oftorture,indicatingamoreviolentdeath. in parallel to the Chinese legal practice, the scope of investigations has extended to include ofinvestigationshasextended practice, thescope process involves illegal actions. Article 37 of the Chinese the of 37 Article actions. involves illegal process position outside the legal framework thelegalleadstotwokey position outside legal process. Article 3 of the Criminal Procedure Law ( Criminal Procedure 3 ofthe Article process. legal for anycriminal investigations, arrests, and detentions be strictly forbidden to extort confessions by torture or to torture by confessions extort to forbidden strictly be , shuanggui duixiangkuodahua shuanggui shuanggui shuanggui , xingshi susong fa xingshi susong 关于纪检机关使用“两规”措施的办法 The lianggui isnotcompatiblewiththeruleoflaw process. As in the Yu Qiyi case, authorities case, Qiyi Yu the in As process. shuanggui process represents a serious threattothe represents process process exists ’ procedures by discipline inspection by discipline ’ procedures ), which was revised in January revised was ), which process exists in parallel to the in parallel exists process 超越权限 shuanggui ). shuanggui , chaoyue quanxian People’s Court, or People’s Procuratorate, a deprivation of a deprivation of organisations. Any restriction, or the public security the public unlawful detention, unlawful 立法法 ” ( 双规”对象扩大 process was shuanggui , shuanggui lifa fa , ). But in guanyu ) of 刑 ’s )

A necessary evil? 4. Democracy, influence, and political infighting Shuanggui seems relatively uncontroversial among in Taiwan Chinese academics. Li Yongzhong, an anti-corruption expert and fervent supporter of shuanggui, says that in Tanguy Lepesant fighting corruption, “no other approach is as effective” (没有比‘两规’更厉害的做法了, meiyou bi lianggui geng Sources: lihai de zuofale). He says that shuanggui is founded on “a Huang Cheng-yi, “Mr. President, stop creating precedents principle and three laws” (一个道理和三大定律, yige daoli harmful to constitutional government”, Tianxia zazhi – he san dadinglü). The principle is that corrupt circles act Common Wealth, 9 September 2013.15 according to common economic interests, but are never Nan Fang-shuo, “A madman should not be head of bound by friendship. Three laws follow from this principle. state and chairman of a political party!”, Ziyou shibao – Firstly, as soon as an official is dismissed, the evidence of Liberty Times, 22 September 2013.16 embezzlement will appear immediately (“closet law”, 马桶 定律, matong dinglü). Secondly, once the official is isolated, Editorial, “The road towards constitutional government his or her accomplices will panic and it will be easier to on both sides of the Strait: lessons from the apprehend them (“the law of rats abandoning a sinking September political struggle”, Wangbao – Want Daily, ship”, 树倒猢狲散定律, shudao husun san dinglü). And 8 October 2013. finally, as soon as the official is caught within theshuanggui system and cut off from the world, any associated alliances On 7 September 2013, Taiwan’s President Ma Ying-jeou or plots will disintegrate automatically (“law of asymmetric tried to inflict a political defeat on Wang Jin-pyng, the information”, 信息不对称定律, xinxi bu duichen dinglü). speaker of the Legislative Yuan (the Taiwanese parliament).17 For these reasons, Li Yongzhong says, shuanggui is To do this, Ma, used the results of phone taps carried out essential to fighting corruption effectively. by the Special Investigation Division of the Supreme Court Prosecutor’s Office (SID, 最高法院檢察暑特別偵查組, zui Other analysts are less enthusiastic. Fan Xiancong and gao fayuan jiancha shu tebie zhencha zu). Ma and his allies, Gu Xiaoming say that shuanggui is a “double-edged sword” including Huang Shih-ming, Prosecutor-General and head (双刃剑, shuangren jian). Although it plays a central role of the SID, said the phone taps proved that Wang Jin-pyng in the fight against corruption, it also violates citizens’ tried to influence several members of the judiciary. Wang’s basic rights. While some believe that the effectiveness of alleged aim was to prevent the launch of an appeal against shuanggui is due to its position outside the law, Fan and Gu the acquittal of Ker Chien-ming, a member of the Legislative think that the process should be “progressively incorporated Yuan for the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), who was into a legal framework” (逐步纳入到法律的轨道上来, zhubu tried and found innocent of breach of trust in June 2013. narudao falü de guidao shanglai). To achieve this, a special On 11 September, Ma exercised his right as chairman of law could be devised to allow discipline inspection bodies the Kuomintang (KMT) to convene the party’s disciplinary to restrict individual freedoms in certain circumstances and committee. Wang was expelled from the party, in the for a legally pre-defined period. Alternatively, shuanggui process losing his job as speaker of the Legislative Yuan. could be used only in special circumstances, since most However, Wang filed a legal challenge to his expulsion. cases do not require depriving the suspect of legal freedoms. His appeal was upheld and the speaker managed to hold Where appropriate, the People’s Procuratorate would make on to his position. The events have triggered a storm of this decision in accordance with the Criminal Procedure unfavourable commentary on the state of Taiwan’s young Law. democracy. The Taiwanese press has discussed at length Wang Jin-pyng’s success in holding his ground, the dubious The authors’ opinions show that shuanggui still has wide legality of the SID’s phone tapping, the constitutionality of support, even if some people argue that the process should Ma Ying-jeou’s accusations against one of his major rivals be anchored within a legal framework. After every scandal in the KMT, and the new insight that the events provide into revealing the CCDI’s abuses, such as for example the cases corruption in local political practices. of Yu Qiyi and Jia Jiuxiang, people call for reform of the shuanggui system. But when powerful leaders are arrested, Huang Cheng-yi’s article opens with a brief account of opinions on the process become more favourable. Wang Ma Ying-jeou’s 8 September press conference, at which Qishan, the current secretary for the CCDI, said this year the president denounced the pressures Wang Jin-pyng that “the current fight against corruption must focus on the allegedly brought to bear on judges. Held in the presidential symptoms in order to save time when treating the causes” palace, the press conference also included Vice President (当前反腐要以治标为主，为治本赢得时间, dangqian fanfu Wu Den-yih and Premier Jiang Yi-huah. Huang Cheng-yi yao yi zhibiao wei zhu, wei zhiben yingde shijian). Since 15 Huang Cheng-yi is assistant research professor at the Institutum the Chinese government currently considers shuanggui Iurisprudentiae of the Academica Sinica in Taipei. to be the best treatment for the symptoms of corruption, 16 Nan Fang-shuo is a political commentator and frequent writer on major changes are unlikely in the short and medium term. domestic issues who is highly critical of Ma Ying-jeou. 17 9 10 December 2013 CHINA ANALYSIS “respect the constitution, fulfil all his duties, ensure the well- “In my role as president I cannot avoid getting involved, I cannotavoidgetting as president “In myrole 為總統，我無從迴避，必須挺身而出，也呼籲全國民眾堅定 ag i-yg s uly M cno ue i psto as position his use cannot Ma guilty, is Jin-pyng Wang real are there believes he However, Jin-pyng. Wang 捍衛台彎的民主治法 (or two, if Ker Chien-ming is included). Article 48, (or two,ifKerChien-mingisincluded).which ( ( 關說司法文化 I have to speak out, and I call upon the whole population whole I havetospeakout,andcalluponthe de zhengzhi Huang contends that Ma Ying-jeou arbitrarily granted Ying-jeou Ma that contends Huang information thinksthatnotenough Huang Cheng-yi u te cuain aant ag o o cnttt a constitute not do Wang against accusations the But Prosecutor-General Huang Shih-ming invoked Article 44 of invoked Article Shih-ming Huang Prosecutor-General yanzhong de yijianshiqing authorise the president to make official pronouncements official make to president the authorise in judicialmatters”( of interference the culture accept a dangerous precedent for Taiwan’s democracy. Evenif precedent a dangerous violated the principle of the separation of powers and set of the separationofpowers violated theprinciple does not have a “Take care clause” obliging thepresident not havea“Takecareclause” does the involve They government. of branches between conflict and thejudiciary example, for between, conflict a of case constitutional the about to beanswered questions quotes Ma as saying that Wang’s behaviour “constitutes the on the legality of the conduct of the speaker, because “the speaker, because of the conduct the of legality on the bixu tingshen er chu, ye huyu quanguominzhongjianding not betray the people’s trust”. But Huang Cheng-yi argues Cheng-yi Huang But trust”. people’s the betray not must choose between tacit acquiescence and “a refusal to refusal and “a acquiescence tacit between choose must most serious violation of the independence of the judiciary” the of independence the of violation serious most hanwei Taiwandeminzhufazhi the president’sownactions. The executed”. laws arefaithfully that the to “ensure constitution, US the unlike constitution, Taiwanese the that must president the that Ma’sintervention.Itsays justify to reach asolution. try to involved to bodies the chairs of the between can callameeting president the legislature, the conflict “a to refers 44 Article since unacceptable, is too that says Cheng-yi Huang taps. But the of contents the about president informing the justify to constitution the not does constitution says the HuangCheng-yi republic. the against accusations on the make ajudgement to taps to be resolute in their defence of democracy in Taiwan”( of democracy defence in their resolute be to sets out the presidential oath, could perhaps be stretched perhaps oath, could presidential out the sets of president as the in hisrole citizen,but concerned single himself the power of judicial intervention. In doing so, he intervention. Indoing of judicial power the himself SID phone the of contents the about released has been punished or removed, without shattering the restraints the shattering or removed,without punished to havehim to launchanenquiry intoadeputy, president to limited are therefore oath presidential the provisions of of judicialinvestigation” not havethepower does president legitimacy of Ma legitimacy Ying-jeou’sactions. Ma spokenotasa being of the people, protect the security of thestate, and security the protect being ofthepeople, ( behaviour and“personalethics” ( Yuans” different between 總統沒有司法調查權 是侵犯司法獨立最嚴重的一件事情 ), branchesofgovernment. or differentIn the , jujue guanshuo sifawenhua jujue , , shenwei zontong,wuconghuibi,wo zongtong meiyou sifadiaocha quan ). According toMa, the people 院與院的爭執 ). 倫理 , shi qinfanzui sifa duli , lunli , ). Ma continued: ). Ma yuan yu ) ofonedeputy 拒絕 身 ).

“madness” ( “madness” ”September’s politicalstruggle” “between theconceptand Taiwanese democracy, which Any efforts to establish higher parliamentarystandards toestablish Any efforts Wang Jin-pyng shows that the president is descending into descending is president the that shows Jin-pyng Wang Yuan. whenthe Moreover, affairtookplace the whole ( awn n s ual t dfn hmef Wn Jin-pyng Wang himself: defend to unable so and Taiwan n i mv aant ag M ws sitd y i own his by assisted was Ma Wang, against move his In Huang Cheng-yi agrees with other commentators that the that commentators other with agrees Cheng-yi Huang He says that it is up to the Legislative Yuan to conduct to Yuan Legislative the to up is it that says He But that does not mean the president can But thatdoesnotmeanthepresidentoverstep Nan says Ma’s attempted political assassination of political Nan saysMa’sattempted severely. more even Ying-jeou Ma criticises Nan Fang-shuo and a meagre attempt to hide the president’s violation to hidethepresident’sof and ameagreattempt most “the were actions Wang’s that conference press the at yi says that statement was only a piece of show business, of show only apiece was that statement yi says minzhu fazhi fazhan zui chirude yi tian get rid of Wang Jin-pyng in a “life and death struggle” for struggle” death and “life a in Jin-pyng Wang of rid get constitutional principle of self-regulation of the legislature. of the principle ofself-regulation constitutional exerting of members its against accusations into enquiries out by a court of law or by a committee of the Legislative of the a committee or by a courtoflaw by out of the Ming dynasty, Ma Ying-jeou is now on the inevitable on the is now Ying-jeou Ming dynasty,Ma the of government”. responsibility for his failures by blamingothers.Hebegins for hisfailures responsibility was inMalaysiaforhisdaughter’sweddingatthetime. with hisownimpotence,theweakking tries toshiftthe mechanisms that can cause an “incompetent king” ( an “incompetent mechanisms thatcancause hunjun the realityofconstitutional both sidesoftheStrait”to information the providedby constitution. Maused the to see conspiracies everywhere and accuses his advisersand and accuses conspiracies everywhere to see ( “influence” of forms various combat to improper influence. Huang says the law confirms the lawconfirms the says Huang influence. improper shameful day in the development of the democratic rule of rule democratic of the development day inthe shameful supporters of treachery, leading to an unending series of series an unending to leading treachery, of supporters identify subject on the many studies of the that some says should becarriedoutaccordingtothisprinciple. must lead “the Chineseon reveals thelimitationsof reflect onthedifference person targeted by these public accusationswasout of public bythese person targeted Ma said constitution. in the power president’s on the placed power ( to tried he why violence. Thatis to from incompetence path finalthat, liketheemperor believes purges. NanFang-shuo Nan power. of exercise the of a symptom is it – psychology law inTaiwan”( SID in order to act as a judge and “pronouncehisverdict” SID inordertoactasajudge behaviour of members of parliament is frequently unethical. behaviour ofmembersparliamentisfrequently 判決 , panjue ) to become a“tyrant”( become ) to 鬥爭 瘋 , douzheng , ) without waiting for enquiries to be carried be for enquiriesto waiting ) without feng 台彎民主法治發展最恥辱的一天 ). This madness is not based in individual is notbased ). Thismadness ). 暴君 , baojun 法 ( Huang points to Huang points Legislative Yuan. xingwei fa xingwei Practices Act and encroach on the proper on the was passed in 2002 passed was the Lawmakers the iis f i office his of limits functions ofthe 立法委員行為 關說 , ). Huang Cheng- ). Huang lifa weiyuan ). Confronted , guanshuo , ), which Taiwan 昏君 ). ,

“gang of four” (四人幫, si ren bang): envoy to the US King for example, Wang was one of those who spoke out against Pu-tsung, Premier Jiang Yi-huah, former Presidential the lack of transparency in negotiations on the agreement Office Deputy Secretary-General Lo Chih-chiang, and on trade in services with China. He called for the Legislative Prosecutor-General Huang Shih-ming. Nan Fang-shuo Yuan to reconsider the wording of the agreement, while the says that Ma Ying-jeou, supported by this little group, is Ma administration wanted the agreement to be adopted embedding a “fascist morality” (法西斯道德, faxisi daode) without debate, as had happened with previous agreements. at the core of Taiwanese democracy. He is systematically This act of rebellion annoyed Ma. It seems possible that and illegally collecting information about his enemies so as on the eve of the new parliamentary session in Taiwan, to discredit them and show his own virtue and capacities Ma hoped to get rid of Wang and replace him with a more as a defender of democratic values. Nan draws an analogy pliable speaker. with the Watergate scandal in the US, which caused outcry in the US Congress, followed by impeachment proceedings and the eventual resignation of President Richard Nixon. Editing: Justine Doody But in this case, Ma Ying-jeou is proud of using illegal SID Translation: phone taps and does not care about the consequences for Peter Brown, Word Works, Jonathan Hall Taiwanese democracy. The people of Taiwan must learn from these events: Ma Ying-jeou’s soft touch and mask of benevolence hide a man who is cold and merciless in dealing with his enemies. The order he has established with the help of his “gang of four” is based on the will of a single individual.

The newspaper Wangbao is much softer on Ma Ying-jeou. Its leader writer is convinced of the guilt of Wang Jin-pyng and Ker Chien-ming. But “September’s political struggle” (九月政爭, jiu yue zheng zheng) reveals the limitations of Taiwanese democracy, which must lead “the Chinese on both sides of the Strait” to reflect on the difference “between the concept and the reality of constitutional government”. The struggle between Ma and Wang shows the extent of influence peddling in the Taiwanese political system. The paper’s editorial says that if the Taiwanese people were not shocked by Wang Jin-pyng’s behaviour, it is because everyone, at one level or another, tries to take advantage of political influence. So Ma Ying-jeou’s attempt to change the system was bound to fail. Beyond Taiwan, these practices are “shared” (共享, gongxiang) with mainland China across the Strait, and they represent a major obstacle on the path to political reform. The episode shows that the values which should be the basis of Taiwanese democracy are in reality empty words used only for political purposes. Ma Ying-jeou used the scandal to try to eliminate Wang Jin-pyng, while the behaviour of Wang and Ker Chien-ming was an insult to democracy. The editorial then criticises the image put forward by the Legislative Yuan and its members. It accuses them of acting out a “farce” (醜劇, chouju) and abusing the rights conferred on them by their positions. But Wangbao concludes that people should keep a positive and optimistic outlook on the chaotic experience of Taiwanese democracy in practice, since that democracy has to serve as an example for Greater China as a whole.

Aside from the question of the legality of Ma’s behaviour, the Taiwanese press sees the attacks on Wang Jin-pyng as motivated by intentions beyond a simple “defence of democracy”. Ma Ying-jeou is thought to have been trying to strengthen his hold on the party and to eliminate obstacles to the rapprochement of the two sides of the Strait. In June, 11 12 December 2013 CHINA ANALYSIS Agatha Kratz isthechiefeditor Agatha of China Analysis, About theauthors: Jérôme Doyon is a PhD candidate on Chinese politics Jérôme DoyonisaPhDcandidateonChinesepolitics Tanguy Lepesant isAssistantprofessor Tanguy at Chungli Paris VII in Chinese studies. He can be reached at Paris VIIinChinesestudies.Hecanbereachedat Hugo Winklerwasawardedamaster’s degree François Godementisthedirectorforstrategy © ECFR/AsiaCentre2013 economic law, and another one from University economic law,andanotheronefromUniversity centreasia.eu. organizations that make the link between the CCP organizations thatmakethelinkbetweenCCP defence issues. He canbereached at m.julienne@ at AsiaCentreandaseniorresearchfellow and the non-communist social groups. He can be at CERI/SciencesPo,workingonUnitedfrontwork Asia Centreprogramscoverthepreventionofconflictsand Asia-Pacific; promotescooperationandsecondtrackdialogue Asia Centre,foundedinAugust2005,conductsresearchand National Central University in Taiwan.HeUniversity National Central can be Marc JulienneisaresearchassistantatAsiaCentre she [email protected]. since April 2013. Hespecializesonsecurityand contributions andviewpointsfromresearchassociatesa governance, globalisationandnationalstrategies,energy, as wellonthepoliticalandeconomictransformationsin organizes debateoninternationalrelationsandstrategicissues, ABOUT ASIACENTRE Contact: [email protected],[email protected] the European Council on Foreign Relations, the EuropeanCouncilonForeignRelations, from Paris II Law School in international from ParisIILawSchoolininternational [email protected]. he [email protected]. reached [email protected]. reached [email protected]. www.centreasia.eu with partnersinAsia,Europeandtheworld;publishestimely proliferation andsustainabledevelopment.Theyalsodraw network ofresearchinstitutions. regional integration,thechallengesofdemocracyand reports fromourresearchteam. information andanalysisfromtheregion,executivebriefs

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