Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
08GUANGZHOU540
2008-09-04 09:17:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Consulate Guangzhou
Cable title:  

Shenzhen Political Reform -- Small Steps

Tags:  PGOV CH 
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FM AMCONSUL GUANGZHOU
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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 GUANGZHOU 000540 

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/03/2033
TAGS: PGOV CH
SUBJECT: Shenzhen Political Reform -- Small Steps

GUANGZHOU 00000540 001.2 OF 002


Classified By: Consul General Robert Goldberg; reasons 1.4(b) and (d)

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 GUANGZHOU 000540

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/03/2033
TAGS: PGOV CH
SUBJECT: Shenzhen Political Reform -- Small Steps

GUANGZHOU 00000540 001.2 OF 002


Classified By: Consul General Robert Goldberg; reasons 1.4(b) and (d)


1. (C) Summary: Talk of political reform is in the air in Shenzhen
and being promoted by think tanks "in the know" in Guangdong. But
the reality is that any potential reforms are likely to be modest and
will take considerable time before they gain any traction. A
document approved by city leaders in June provides guidelines for
economic, administrative and political reforms, including a call for
the direct election of delegates to district-level people's
congresses. Academics and other political observers in Shenzhen
believe that reform will take place only in small steps and at a slow
pace. Many of the reforms are still in the research phase and there
is no implementation plan for the district-level congress elections.
Our contacts generally agree that Beijing supports the proposals and
will seek to apply lessons learned in Shenzhen more broadly in China.
End Summary.

Increasing Accountability More Than Democracy
--------------


2. (SBU) In early June, Shenzhen city government and party leaders
approved a document to serve as a guideline for future economic,
administrative and political reforms in the city. The document --
titled "Opinions of Shenzhen for Persisting in Reform, Opening Up,
and Acceleration of Scientific Development in an Effort to Construct
a Model City for Socialism with Chinese Characteristics" and
reportedly drafted by the Shenzhen Academy of Social Science -- is a
wide-ranging package of 19 proposals. Many appear aimed primarily at
increasing accountability within government.


3. (SBU) Perhaps the most significant proposal in the package is the
eventual direct election of people's congress delegates at the
district level. Another forward-leaning proposal is the call for a
competitive selection process for district-level officials from a
slate of multiple candidates. Other proposals include:

--strengthening supervision of government budgets by people's
congresses;
--a stronger legislative role for people's congresses;
--enhancing the ability of the media and online communities to
supervise government (which was very much on Guangdong Party
Secretary Wang Yang's mind when he met with leading netizens; and
--development of non-governmental organizations. (Comment: This

likely refers more to government-organized non-governmental
organizations rather than the truly independent variety. End
comment.)


4. (C) The document was the second reform proposal released in
Shenzhen this spring, but an earlier document -- "Outline for Reform
in Shenzhen in the Near Future" drafted by the Shenzhen Communist
Party Committee Policy Research Office -- had been quickly pulled
back. According to Xu Jian, the Chair of the Shenzhen Lawyers
Association and one of eight legal experts who consulted with
Shenzhen officials about the reforms, the earlier document agitated
certain Shenzhen leaders because it was too "aggressive" and used
"many bold terms."


5. (C) Le Zheng, president of the Shenzhen Academy of Social Sciences
(SASS),commented to us that the proposed reforms were necessary as
the role of government in China's society was changing. He said the
government needed to stay away from interference in the daily
operation of enterprises and resource allocation. (This too would
accord with Wang Yang's views on "mind liberation," which would allow
people to operate more independently of government control.) Instead
it should focus on providing public services and exercising
macroeconomic control. As a result, Le believes that there can be no
stand-alone set of reforms that addresses only economic, political or
social issues. The whole situation must be addressed together.

Emphasis on "Small Steps"
--------------


6. (C) Fu Xiaoshui, director of the Administration Science Department
of the Shenzhen Party School, explained that the proposals would
serve as general guidelines and principles for future work in
promoting reform, but commented that Shenzhen would never be allowed
to develop a different political system from the rest of China. He
emphasized that there was no timetable or deadline for implementation
and most observers expected the process to take a long time. Fu
compared implementation of the proposals to "walking fast with small
steps" (xiaobu kuaizou).


7. (C) Other experts echoed Fu's comments on timing, some with the
same words. SASS's Le also compared the pace of reform in Shenzhen
to "walking fast with small steps." Jin Cheng, the founder of the
Shenzhen Society, an organization formed by professionals to offer
advice on government policies, told us he expected the current
leadership to move in "small steps" and consolidate its position
after each one. He summarized the approach as "more haste, less
speed."

GUANGZHOU 00000540 002.2 OF 002




8. (C) Fu pointed out that some of the proposals are already being
implemented while others remain very much in the research stage. He
noted that two months ago Shenzhen had filled four positions at the
director-general level through open nominations and competitive
selection processes. He said there were many candidates and the
process was smooth. With regard to direct election of district-level
people's congress delegates, on the other hand, Fu indicated there
was still no implementation plan.

Support from the Center
--------------


9. (C) The experts we spoke with agreed that the Shenzhen reform
proposals have the support of senior leaders in Beijing. Peng Peng,
a researcher at the Guangzhou Academy of Social Sciences, said that
even though neither Beijing nor the Guangdong provincial leadership
had shown open support for the proposals, they had not voiced
opposition either. He believes that Beijing is willing to allow
Shenzhen to serve as a pilot area for the reform.


10. (C) Fu from the Shenzhen Party School went further, saying that
Shenzhen had been tasked by Beijing with taking this initiative. He
said that while some proposals originated in Shenzhen, others were
assigned directly by Beijing. According to Fu, central government
leaders and agencies provided strong support for the proposals "in
spirit."


11. (C) Jin of the Shenzhen Society commented that China's top
leaders, including Hu Jintao, understood the domestic problems facing
China like corruption and believed that reform was necessary to solve
them. Jin believes that even though there are grassroots demands for
reform, the main drive must come from the top.


12. (C) SASS's Le gave Guangdong Party Secretary Wang Yang more
credit as the driving force behind the reform. He said that Wang had
initiated the reforms as part of his "mind emancipation" campaign,
earning the nickname of "Marshall Wang" in Shenzhen's online
community. He noted that Beijing was watching progress in Shenzhen
closely.

Comment - Enthusiasm Tempered with Realism
--------------


13. (C) Our Shenzhen contacts are enthusiastic about the role they
believe the city is called upon to play as a leader of the next wave
of reform in China. As Fu from the Shenzhen Party School put it,
Shenzhen has already successfully completed the task of developing
the socialist market economy, now the task falls on it to explore how
to implement "scientific development," which is likely central to the
next stage of reform and opening. Nevertheless, these observers are
all realistic about the potential for rapid political change -- the
steps will be very small and the pace will be slow -- but the
potential for reforming how the bureaucracy interacts with a changing
modern society is vast.

GOLDBERG