Dharamsala, October 5: Wen Jiabao, the Chinese prime minister, has promised that China will carry out political reform and acknowledged that the need for democracy and freedom in China is “irresistible”.
In a rare interview, aired on CNN on Sunday, Mr Wen said: “I believe I and all the Chinese people have such conviction that China will make continuous progress and the people’s wishes and need for democracy and freedom are irresistible. I hope you will be able to gradually see the continuous progress of China.”
Premier Wen also said he has faced “resistance” from sections of the Chinese leadership in taking forward political reforms in China, for the first time indicating that there was a split between leaders of the Communist Party over the sensitive question.
“In spite of the various discussions and views in society, and in spite of some resistance, I will act in accordance with [my] ideals unswervingly and advance within the realm of my capabilities political restructuring,” said Mr. Wen.
“The wish and will of the people are not stoppable,” he added.
He said freedom of speech was “indispensable” for any country, and warned the next generation of leadership, which takes over from him and President Hu Jintao in 2012, that those who went against “the will of the people” would “fail.”
Asked about censorship, the 68-year-old Mr Wen said: “I believe freedom of speech is indispensable for any country, a country in the course of development and in a country that has become strong.” He insisted that there was freedom to criticise the Chinese government on the internet, where he said he had often seen views aired that were sharply critical of officials. “Those who go along with the trend will survive, and those who go against the trend will fail….I will not fall in spite of the strong wind and harsh rain, and I will not yield till the last day of my life,” he added.
In the interview, Mr Wen also called for the rule of law and greater scrutiny of the Communist Party. “My view is that a political party, after it becomes a ruling party, should be somewhat different from the one when it was struggling for power,” he said. “The biggest difference should be that this political party should act in accordance with the Constitution and the law.”
“I often say that we should not only let people have the freedom of speech,” he added. “More importantly, we must create conditions to let people criticise the work of the government. It is only when there is supervision and critical oversight from the people that the government will be in a position to do an even better job, and employees of government departments will be true public servants.”
The Chinese Premier has, in recent months, stirred debate among sections of the ruling party and the Chinese media with increasingly forceful public calls for reform.
In April, Mr. Wen penned an article in the official People’s Daily newspaper in which he praised the disgraced former leader, and his mentor, Hu Yaobang, who was ousted by hard-line groups in the 1980s and remains absent from official histories.
The interview marks the third time in recent weeks that Mr Wen has raised the topic of political reform.
In early September, during a trip to Shenzhen to mark the thirtieth anniversary of economic reforms, he reportedly called called for “political restructuring”, warning that “stagnation” in political reforms would threaten the progress China had made over three decades of opening up. He also called for a loosening of the “excessive political control” of the Communist party. Some of his remarks were not reported by the official media in China, media reports said.
In his speech to the United Nations General Assembly last week, Mr Wen said that “While deepening economic restructuring, we will also push forward political restructuring.”
Some Chinese scholars have reportedly argued the Premier’s comments were only directed to please liberal groups, with no prospect of change on the cards. Other analysts say his remarks suggest a push by the Premier to push for reforms before his term ends.
In the past, the Communist party has repeatedly promised political reforms but has failed to deliver any substantive changes. The party also often uses the phrase “democracy” simply to refer to greater public participation in decision-making, without universal suffrage.
Notions in the run up to the 17th National Party Congress in October 2007 that there might be reforms were dashed when the government chose to focus on stability and security in the run-up to the Beijing Olympic Games and the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China by Mao Zedong.
However, Mr Wen’s decision to once again air the topic, and to a major international television network, may confirm that reform is back on the government agenda.
Some observers have reportedly commented that there may be a split between Mr Wen and Hu Jintao, the Chinese president, over the issue. Mr Hu has not recently mentioned any prospect of political reform.
The Communist Party has ruled without opposition in China since 1949, imprisoning scores of political activists and dissidents. While China made vital economic reforms in the late 1970s to allow a more market-based economy, the Party has not yet made accompanying political reforms.
Mr Wen is currently in Brussels to attend the ongoing Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) and China-EU Summit on October 6. Wen arrived in Brussels on Monday after concluding his visit in Greece. He will later visit Italy and Turkey as part of his four-nation visit.
Meanwhile, a coalition of human rights and Tibet support groups in Brussels on Monday called on the EU foreign policy chief Baroness Ashton to raise European concern about Tibet directly with the Chinese Primier at the ongoing ASEM 8 and EU-China Summit.
The groups also said they would hold a “Demonstration for Tibet” today in Brussels, where the meetings are taking place.
Despite likely attempts by the Chinese government to block any mention of Tibet, European Commissioner Karel De Gucht has confirmed that human rights issues will be discussed at EU-China Summit.
