The Logic and Limits of Political Reform in China Joseph Fewsmith Excerpt More Information

Cambridge University Press 978-1-107-03142-5 — The Logic and Limits of Political Reform in China Joseph Fewsmith Excerpt More Information

The Logic and Limits of Political Reform in China

In the 1990s China embarked on a series of political reforms intended to increase, however modestly, political participation to reduce the abuse of power by local officials. Although there was initial progress, these reforms have largely stalled and, in many cases, gone backward. If there were sufficient incentives to inaugurate reform, why wasn’t there enough momentum to continue and deepen them? This book approaches this ques- tion by looking at a number of promising reforms and under- standing the incentives of officials at different levels and the way the Chinese Communist Party operates at the local level. The short answer is that the sort of reforms necessary to make local officials more responsible to the citizens they govern cut too deeply into the organizational structure of the party.

Joseph Fewsmith is Professor of International Relations and Political Science at Boston University. He is the author of China Since Tiananmen: From Deng Xiaoping to Hu Jintao (2008), which is the second edition of China Since Tianan- men: The Politics of Transition (2001); Elite Politics in Con- temporary China (2001); The Dilemmas of Reform in China: Political Conﬂict and Economic Debate (1994); and Party, State, and Local Elites in Republican China: Merchant Orga- nizations and Politics in Shanghai, 1980–1930 (1985). He is the editor of China Today, China Tomorrow (2010)and co-editor, with Zheng Yongnian, of China’s Opening Society (2008). He is very active in the China ﬁeld, traveling to China frequently and presenting papers at professional conferences such as the Association for Asian Studies and the American Political Science Association. His articles have appeared in such journals as The China Quarterly, Asian Survey, The Jour- nal of Contemporary China, Modern China,andComparative Studies in Society and History. He is one of seven regular con- tributors to China Leadership Monitor, a quarterly Web publication analyzing current developments in China. He is also an associate of the John King Fairbank Center for East Asian Studies at Harvard University and of the Pardee Center for the Study of the Longer Range Future at Boston University.

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The Logic and Limits of Political Reform in China

JOSEPH FEWSMITH

Boston University

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Cambridge University Press is part of the University of Cambridge. It furthers the University’s mission by disseminating knowledge in the pursuit of education, learning and research at the highest international levels of excellence. www.cambridge.org Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9781107031425 © Joseph Fewsmith 2013 This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the provisions of relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take place without the written permission of Cambridge University Press. First published 2013 Reprinted 2013 A catalogue record for this publication is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication data Fewsmith, Joseph, 1949– The logic and limits of political reform in China / Joseph Fewsmith. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. isbn 978-1-107-03142-5 (hardback) – isbn 978-1-107-61254-9 (paperback) 1. Political participation – China. 2. China – Politics and government. 3. Local government – China. 4. Democratization – China. I. Title. jq1516.f49 2013 320.951–dc23 2012023175 isbn 978-1-107-03142-5 Hardback isbn 978-1-107-61254-9 Paperback Cambridge University Press has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of URLs for external or third-party internet websites referred to in this publication, and does not guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate.

Contents

Figures and Maps page vi Abbreviations vii Acknowledgments ix

Introduction 1 1 The Problem of Governance in China 18 2 Bottom-Up Reform versus Top-Down Development 42 3 Inner-Party Democracy 68 4 Wenzhou: Social Capital without Civil Society 108 5 Consultative Authoritarianism: The Wenling Model 142 Conclusion 170

Glossary 179 Bibliography 191 Index 215

Figures and Maps

Figures 1. Public Security building in Weng’an page 21 2. Bridge across Shuanghekou 48 3. Broad streets in Suqian 56 4. Wenzhou General Chamber of Commerce 119 5. Discussing the budget in Wenling 152

Maps 1. China, with provinces of Sichuan and Zhejiang highlighted 13 2. Chongqing municipality, indicating location of Maliu township 43 3. Sichuan province, indicating locations of Bazhong city, capital Chengdu, Pingchang county, Suining city, Buyun town, and Ya’an city 76 4. Zhejiang province, indicating locations of Wenzhou, Taizhou, and the capital, Hangzhou 112

Abbreviations

CCP Chinese Communist Party CDIC Central Discipline Inspection Commission CPPCC Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference CPSU Communist Party of the Soviet Union FIC Federation of Industry and Commerce HRS Household Responsibility System MCA Ministry of Civil Affairs MOFTEC Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation NGO nongovernment organization NPC National People’s Congress PRC People’s Republic of China

vii

Acknowledgments

This project started six years ago when I was a scholar at the Woodrow Wilson Center for International Studies in Washing- ton, D.C., where I enjoyed the hospitality of Lee Hamilton and Robert Hathaway and learned from my colleagues. At the time, I thought it probable that political reform in China would fol- low, albeit with a lag, the course of economic reform – gradual moves that would, over time, increase political participation and create institutions that would constrain the behavior of local ofﬁcials. Greater liberalization of the system seemed a real possi- bility, and the various experiments unfolding in political reform suggested that the central government supported such reforms and that there were real interests at the local level for doing so. So I began to search out examples of what appeared to be the most promising examples of reform. The China Leadership Monitor, an online journal that I have been fortunate enough to be involved with since its inception, provided a terriﬁc platform for trying out my ideas. The Smith Richardson Foundation has generously supported the China Leadership Monitor over the years, and I am happy to acknowledge their support. Procrastination is rarely seen as a virtue, but, in the case of this project, watching the evolution of Chinese reform over the past six years has not only led me to a deeper appreciation of the dynamics of reform but also forced me to pay closer attention

x Acknowledgments

to the sustainability of reform efforts at the local level. That is to say, although the creation of new and effective institutions seemed possible when I started this project, time has suggested that reforms that seemed likely to lead to new institutions and more predictable government have withered as time has passed. Innovation is one thing; institutionalization another. In trying to understand the dynamics of reform, why institutions are created, and how they are sustained, if they are, I have put myself in debt to many people, many of whom may have views different from those I have come to hold. In all cases, however, they have been generous in sharing their insights. So it is with great gratitude that I thank Cai Dingjian (whose passing in 2010 caused much sadness), Chen Sheng- yong, Chen Yimin, Gregory Chin, Clifford Edmunds, Fang Ning, Feng Yue, Bernie Frolic, Han Fuguo, Gao Xiang, Gao Xinjun, Guo Dan, Guo Xiaoming, He Junzhi, He Zengke, Hu Wei, Jia Xijin, Jiang Hua, Jiang Zhaohua, Jing Yuejin, Lai Hairong, Lang Youxing, Charlotte Lee, Cheng Li, Li Fan, Liu Yawei, Ma Jun, Alice L. Miller, Carl Minzner, Mo Yifei, Niu Meili, Jean Oi, Pan Wei, Elizabeth J. Perry, Qin Hui, Shi Weimin, Bernard Sil- berman, Tang Tsou, Wang Changjiang, Wang Guoqin, Wang Jian, Wang Jingyao, Wang Xiaodong, Wang Zhenyao, Robert P. Weller, Yang Fan, Yang Xuedong, Yu Jianrong, Yu Jianxing, Yu Keping, Yu Xunda, Xiang Jiquan, Xiao Gongqin, Xu Xianglin, Xu Yong, Zhang Xueming, Zhao Wenmian, Zheng Yongnian, Zhou Meiyan, Zhou Yi, and many others. The ideas presented in this book were developed not only through observation, reading, and discussion but also by presenting my views at talks at Middlebury College, Benedictine College, Kings College, the China Law Center at Yale Univer- sity, the Harvard Yenching Institute at Harvard University, the Fairbank Center at Harvard University, and Stanford University. I appreciate the opportunity to exchange ideas with those who attended and challenged me to think more deeply. Finally, I want to thank Nancy Hearst of the H. C. Fung Library at Harvard University for her careful editing, making my prose smoother than it is naturally, cutting out redundancies and

Acknowledgments xi

inconsistencies, and ensuring accuracy. Lewis Bateman, Mark Fox, Stephanie Sakson, and Shaun Vigil at Cambridge University Press have made the publication a smooth and enjoyable process. I am deeply grateful to all those who have helped me better understand the reform process in China and those who have made my presentation of my ﬁndings more understandable, but, alas, the errors that remain are my responsibility alone.

J. F.