LOCAL CADRE VOICES FRUSTRATIONS WITH GOVERNMENT

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BEIJING 004500 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/11/2033 TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM PINR CH SUBJECT: LOCAL CADRE VOICES FRUSTRATIONS WITH GOVERNMENT WASTE AND CORRUPTION, LACK OF POLITICAL REFORM Classified By: Political Minister Counselor Aubrey Carlson. Reasons 1. 4 (b) and (d). SUMMARY -------------- 1.(C) An American-educated mid-level Communist Party cadre in the impoverished Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region recently shared with visiting EmbOffs his frustrations over Chinese Government waste and corruption, as well as the lack of political reform. Liu Jinqi (protect),Deputy Director General of the Ningxia Foreign Affairs Office (FAO),told EmbOffs he returned to China from the United States to "make a difference," but has found his aspirations "suffocated" by "wasteful" government activities. The Chinese general public is "fed up" with "endemic corruption" and the growing gap between rich and poor, Liu stated, warning that "serious social disturbances" could "erupt anytime, anywhere." Liu said he believes China's top leaders are "well aware" of a "dire leadership deficit" at the local level to address these problems. He criticized the Party for not implementing "democratic political reform." End Summary. NINGXIA VIRTUAL PRESENCE POST (VPP) TRIP -------------- ¶2. (C) During a November 24-26 visit to Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region in support of Embassy Beijing's Ningxia Virtual Presence Post (VPP),POLOFF met with Liu Jinqi (protect),Deputy Director General (DDG) of the Ningxia Foreign Affairs Office. A Ningxia native in his mid-40s, DDG Liu said he has held his current position for two years, after having served five years as Vice Mayor of Guyuan Prefecture, one of Ningxia's (and China's) poorest regions. Liu said the Governor of Ningxia placed him in his current position in the provincial FAO because of his English skills, among other talents. AN AMERICAN-EDUCATED CADRE -------------- ¶3. (C) Liu said he attended the Beijing Foreign Language Institute (now known as the Beijing Foreign Studies University),where he was the roommate of current MFA North American and Oceanian Affairs DDG Deng Hongbo. After graduating, Liu said, he worked "in business" for a few years. In the early 1990s, he attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he obtained an MBA, after which he worked in Chicago and Los Angeles for eight years. Liu eventually decided to return to China, saying he wanted to "help his country." Upon return, Liu said, he worked for the State Commission of Science and Technology and Industry for National Defense (COSTIND) in Beijing, where he joined the Communist Party. Eventually he was transferred to Ningxia to establish the Provincial Government's information technology unit. From that position, he was appointed Vice Mayor of Guyuan prefecture. Liu said his membership in the Communist Party may have prevented him from being selected as Vice Governor of Ningxia, for which h e apparently was considered, as such positions are normally reserved for non-Party members. Nevertheless, Liu noted wryly, any position in China with a "vice" in its title is, in fact, "powerless." GOVERNMENT WORK "POINTLESS," ORDINARY CITIZENS "DISGUSTED" -------------- -------------- ¶4. (C) Liu said he "really wanted to come back to change things," but now says he sees "nothing will happen." He expressed frustration with the "endless" and "pointless" official meetings, conferences and investigative trips to other provinces and abroad in which he must participate. Such trips are "merely tourism," Liu said, adding that many cadres not only do not object but instead embrace these practices. Ordinary citizens, by contrast, are "disgusted" with the "endless corruption," including that represented by such "boondoggle" travel, as well as the growing gap between the rich and poor. Incidents of social disorder, such as the recent taxi strikes in a number of PRC cities, Liu said, are not isolated incidents but evidence of the systemic poverty of leadership in the Communist system. Other such incidents "could erupt anytime, anywhere," Liu averred. TOP LEADERS "AWARE" OF LOCAL "LEADERSHIP DEFICIT" -------------- -------------- ¶5. (C) Liu said he was surprised to hear Premier Wen Jiabao's statements in the past that the Communist Party has only a "window of opportunity to act" on the problems facing China. Liu's interpretation of speeches by President Hu and Premier Wen is that they are "aware" of the "dire" leadership BEIJING 00004500 002 OF 002 situation China faces at the local level. Liu credited former Party chief Zhao Ziyang, ousted following the 1989 Tiananmen protests, for the economic blueprint that has propelled China's growth. Since Zhao's fall from grace, however, China's political development has "regressed." Liu noted that, beginning in September 2008, the Party has been organizing a number of study sessions to get cadres in line behind President Hu's "Scientific Development Concept." Liu said that, during such sessions, he has had to write a number of "self-criticism papers." PARTY "AFRAID" OF NGOS -------------- ¶6. (C) Liu noted that if the Party were really practicing democracy, it would welcome NGOs, but the Party instead is "afraid" of NGO activities. Liu noted, almost casually, that he recently received a "secret memo" from the Central Government asking about the Ford Foundation's activities, and specifically whether Ford is supporting Chinese NGOs. Liu told POLOFF that Ford has no activities in Ningxia. REFORMERS EASILY "ISOLATED" IN CHINA -------------- ¶7. (C) In considering aloud how to address the domestic problems facing China, Liu suggested to POLOFF that perhaps Western-educated cadres such as himself could "band together" to "make a difference." Liu stated that, until now, China's more open thinkers have been "isolated." "In a country as vast as China," Liu said, "it is easy to lose people." ¶8. (C) NOTE: EmbOffs were introduced briefly to Liu at a welcome dinner on November 24, the first day of a VPP trip to Yinchuan City in Ningxia. The next evening, November 25, after Ningxia FAO interlocutors with primary responsibility for EmbOff's trip departed, Liu sought out EmbOffs to make the above comments. Liu asked that EmbOffs be careful not to mention meeting him in this context to his FAO colleagues. Piccuta