PROVINCIAL OFFICIAL ON SOCIAL STABILITY, PRIDE IN

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BEIJING 003293

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/26/2033
TAGS: PGOV SOCI PHUM PREL KOLY CH
SUBJECT: PROVINCIAL OFFICIAL ON SOCIAL STABILITY, PRIDE IN
OLYMPICS

REF: BEIJING 3005

Classified By: Political Minister Counselor Aubrey Carlson. Reasons 1.
4 (b) and (d).

Summary
--------------


1. (C) According to a prefecture-level Party Secretary from
Anhui Province, new regulations on handling petitions will
make local officials improve their efforts to deal with
disgruntled citizens. Liu'an City Prefecture Communist Party
Secretary Tang Linxiang (protect) told PolOff earlier this
month that the pressure for economic development makes it
inevitable that some people will be disgruntled and admitted
that local governments often have to resort to "forceful
measures" to clear the way for development. Local
governments do not have the option of delaying projects based
on small-scale opposition because the "core interests" of the
majority require continued rapid economic growth. He argued
that petitioners who take their grievances to Beijing have an
inflated sense of self-importance and that their issues have
"nothing to do" with Beijing. He claimed that incidents like
the June 28 riot in Weng'an, Guizhou Province, are "extremely
rare" and tend to happen in the more "backward" areas of
China. In town to attend the Olympics Opening Ceremony, the
Party official said that hosting the Olympic Games is a
matter of immense pride to the Chinese who have been "looked
down on" by the international community for over a century.
End Summary

Rules Should Improve Handling of Petitions
--------------


2. (C) Tang Linxiang (protect),an FY 2000 International
Visitor Program participant and currently Communist Party
Secretary of Liu'an City Prefecture (population approximately
7 million) in Anhui Province, told PolOff August 7 that the
July 24 regulations (ref A) on handling petitions will put
additional pressure on local officials to improve their
efforts to deal with disgruntled local citizens. Asked
whether these rules would result in increased punishment of
local officials, he responded that the issues that provoke
petitions are usually related to a Central Government policy
or dissatisfaction with compensation awarded. In such cases,
as the issues are handled on the based on central guidelines,
local officials would not be subject to discipline measures
under the new rules. However, local officials would be
censured under the new regulations if their high-handed or
rough handling of a petitioner leads to an incident.

Development Also Maintains Social Stability
--------------


3. (C) Tang noted that the Central Government's paramount
concern for social stability is driving its efforts to
improve the handling of petitions. He argued, however, that
continued development is also key to maintaining social
stability. To illustrate the point, he said a local
government may make a decision on a development project that
will result in the relocation of families. Perhaps 90
percent of them will be amenable to taking the Government's
initial offer of relocation and compensation. Over the next
several months, local officials may be able to persuade
additional families to leave as well. At some point,
however, local authorities will have to use more "forceful
measures" to remove the holdouts. Such measures are taken
because far more people benefit economically from the project
than are disadvantaged.

Development Cannot Be Delayed
--------------


4. (C) Because of the need to sustain high growth rates,
development projects cannot be delayed for too long, Tang
remarked. He recalled a local dispute he witnessed during
his International Visitor Program in 2000, when he attended a
town council meeting in Springfield, Massachusetts,
deliberating whether to pave a local road. He said that the
community was equally divided on the issue so action on the
issue was delayed. Although he noted strong feelings voiced
on both sides of the issue, the dispute was handled in a
civil manner, and townspeople had the option of deferring the
decision. Tang was impressed with the democratic nature of
the whole process, but he assessed that because most of the
participants were affluent, the issue did not affect their

BEIJING 00003293 002 OF 002


"core interests." He commented that in Anhui, projects
cannot be delayed over local opposition because people are
struggling to get ahead and their core interests require
rapid economic development. Tang argued that Chinese society
lacks the "quality of people" that America and Europe have
and that it will take at least 100 years to raise the
"quality" of the average Chinese to that level. For this
reason, he argued, China is not ready for the kind of
democracy on local issues that he witnessed in the United
States.

Petitioners Cases "Have Nothing to Do" with Beijing
-------------- --------------


5. (C) Despite local government efforts to assuage the
disgruntled, there will always be a few who will want to take
their cases to Beijing for redress, Tang said. He argued
that these petitioners have an exaggerated sense of
self-importance and that their issues have "nothing to do
with Beijing." In fact, he averred, the petitioners are
simply trying to maximize compensation or try to take revenge
on local officials by trying to get them in trouble. Beijing
is not particularly interested in hearing from the
petitioners, Tang argued, and therefore the Central
Government encourages local officials to deal with the
problems at home, prevent petitioners from coming to Beijing,
or intercept those who do try to travel. Tang commented that
because Central Government Leaders are frequently portrayed
meeting local people and showing concern about individual
local problems, locals increasingly believe that President Hu
Jintao or Premier Wen Jiabao will take a personal interest in
their problems.

"Incident" Could Cause Problems for Local Officials
-------------- --------------


6. (C) Tang admitted that he is concerned that even if he and
his subordinates handle cases by the rules, if a "major
incident" occurred, the Central Government might punish local
leaders to show that the Center is responsive to local
people's concerns. That said, Tang argued that incidents
such as the June 28 riot in Weng'an, Guizhou, are "extremely
rare" and tend to happen in the more "backward" areas of
China. He said that even though his prefecture lags behind
the development level of the coastal areas, the quality and
education levels of the local officials are relatively high,
and people are generally content with their improving
standards of living.

Olympics a Matter of National Pride
--------------


7. (C) Tang commented that hosting the Olympics has been an
extremely proud moment for the Chinese people. He noted that
the China has felt "very looked down upon" by other countries
and hosting the Games has been an opportunity to show China's
accomplishments and shed this inferiority complex. (Note:
The concept of China's "century of humiliation, spanning from
the Opium War in 1839 to the founding of the PRC in 1949, is
ingrained in the psyche of many Chinese and embedded in
China's education system.) Tang commented that "99.9999
percent" of Chinese were opposed to the March 14 uprising in
Tibet and the August 4 attack in Kashgar, incidents which
Tang said were intended to disrupt China's effort to host the
Olympics. Tang, who was in Beijing to attend the Opening
Ceremony, commented that he wanted to nominate a model worker
or farmer to attend the ceremony. However, because different
areas in Anhui Province wanted to allocate the tickets
differently, the provincial leadership decreed that only
Party Secretaries should attend so as not to create jealousy
or criticism, Tang said.
RANDT