[Marxism] Letter accuses China's party of drift

["John A Imani" <johnaimani@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

(JAI:  Please forgive if posted earlier by someone else.  I just ran acrosss 
it.)

"Party secretaries have become capitalists, and
capitalists have joined the party," the letter says.
"Foreign corporations are plundering domestic markets
and crushing our national economy." 

Letter accuses China's party of drift

The 17 signatories, ex-officials and academics, say
policies make a mockery of Marxism.

By Mark Magnier
Times Staff Writer

July 18, 2007

BEIJING -- A rare open letter signed by 17 former top
officials and conservative Marxist scholars ahead of a
key party meeting accuses China's top leaders of
steering the country in the wrong direction, pandering
to foreigners, betraying the workers' revolution and
jeopardizing social stability.

"We're going down an evil road," says the letter on the
website http://www.maoflag.net . "The whole country is
at a most precarious time."

The challenge is unusual because of the importance of
its signatories and its timing before this fall's party
congress, an event held every five years and a key date
on the political calendar.

Most public dissent in China generally comes from the
beleaguered ranks of human rights activists and minority
religious groups seeking to reduce the Communist Party's
power. By contrast, those who affixed their names to
this document included former government ministers, a
former ambassador to Russia, ex-army officers and
academics from elite universities and think tanks. And
their emphasis was on restoring party control of an
economy that has moved rapidly toward capitalist
practices in recent years.

The letter provides an unusual public view of
ideological differences within the party, which
generally tries to present a unified front.

"This is probably the first time so many high-ranking
people have spoken out like this," said He Husheng, a
professor of party history at People's University. "The
Central Committee is surely not happy at their
behavior."

The policies advocated by those signing the letter
include reversing a law passed this year that allows
private ownership of property, abandoning rules that
allow entrepreneurs to join the Communist Party,
imposing sharp restrictions on foreign investment,
putting an end to privatization of state assets and
placing a renewed emphasis on Marxist campaigns and
education.

The party's focus on economic liberalization has led to
a dangerous mix of widespread corruption, unemployment,
a growing wealth gap and potential social unrest, the
letter's authors argue.

If China continues down this path, the letter says, the
country will soon "have its own Boris Yeltsin" and "the
demise of the party and country would loom."

Full at 
<http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-china18jul18,0,6811467.story?coll=la-home-center>
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