China's Maoists, liberals clash
The ideological fights do not just point to a party struggling for consensus, but could be a signpost for major upheavals ahead, says an observer
Peh Shing Huei
The Straits Times
Publication Date : 09-06-2011
Even as the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) gears up for the 90th anniversary of its founding on July 1, top cadres are locked in an ideological battle over the party's direction.
Split into two camps - the so-called Maoists and liberals - they have even taken to waging their fight in cyberspace and in the mass media.
The Maoists want the CCP to take the retro route. These conservative hardliners glorify Chairman Mao Zedong, want to guard China against foreign influences and are unhappy with the unbridled capitalism unleashed by more than 30 years of economic reforms. While only the most extreme among them would repudiate the market economy, they nevertheless want greater control to rein in the excesses of capitalism.
The opposing camp, whose thinking can be considered liberal in the Chinese political spectrum, is pushing for democratic political reform, less state involvement in the economy as well as so-called 'universal values' like freedom and human rights.
These liberals, however, are not advocating Western-style democracy, but just greater accountability and choices within one-party rule.
Clashes between the two camps have intensified and become more vicious, best illustrated by the controversy surrounding well-known economist Mao Yushi in recent weeks.
The 82-year-old liberal, no relation to the late chairman, posted a scathing article on the website of Caixin magazine in which he urged the country to end its idolisation of Mao.
The CCP did not bring happiness to China, he wrote in April. "On the contrary, it plunged (the country) into an abyss of misery for 30 years."
Some 50 million Chinese are believed to have died as a result of Mao's policies, he said. "He is not God, and he will be removed from the altar, divested of all the myth that used to shroud him and receive a just evaluation as an ordinary man."
The essay angered the Maoists, who submitted a petition bearing 10,000 signatures to a police station in Beijing about two weeks ago, demanding the arrest of Mao for alleged subversion and libel.
Those who supported the campaign included two of the chairman's relatives: His niece Mao Xiaoqing and his daughter-in-law Liu Siqi, the widow of Mao's eldest son Mao Anying, who was killed in 1950 fighting in the Korean War.
Mao received threatening phone calls and netizens labelled him a 'capitalist running dog', 'cow ghost' and 'snake spirit' - terms used during the Cultural Revolution to humiliate people before they were subjected to physical abuse.
A citizens' complaint is expected to be delivered to the National People's Congress, China's Parliament, next week.
"This Maoist revival is a great concern now. The signs are that the party is turning increasingly Red," said Hong Kong-based analyst Willy Lam.
Last week, the Maoists' main website, Utopia, was hacked, although it is unclear if it was the work of the liberals.
Even the state media have been dragged into the tussle. People's Daily, the party's organ, has been carrying conflicting commentaries, some calling for political reform and others pressing for tighter party discipline.
Such clashes would have petered out if not for support from the highest levels within the CCP adopting increasingly trenchant ideological positions before a major leadership change next year, said analysts.
The public face of the Maoist faction, for example, is clearly Politburo member Bo Xilai, who is party boss of Chongqing.
The transformation of the western municipality of Chongqing into a mini Mao kingdom, with crackdowns against crime and corruption, and mass singing of 'Red songs' in praise of Mao, has given the faction a superstar to rally around.
It has also allowed Bo, son of a revolutionary leader himself, to claim ownership of the party and make a strong bid for a place in the nine-member Politburo Standing Committee, the apex of political power in China.
In comparison, the liberals have been more muted, with several latching onto Premier Wen Jiabao, rightly or wrongly, as their inspiration, in the push for greater intra-party democracy, among other changes.
But while Wen has spoken out repeatedly on reform, his enigmatic words ensured that his position is more vague than that of the likes of Bo.
Still, the liberals are insistent that their voices are heard in the highest echelons as well. There have been persistent rumours in Beijing that senior leaders are talking about dropping all references to 'Mao Zedong Thought' in official documents, a highly symbolic move for the CCP.
The ideological fights do not just point to a party struggling for consensus, said an observer who asked not to be named, but could be a signpost for major upheavals ahead.
"It reminds me of the period before the Cultural Revolution, the reform and opening up and also before the Tiananmen incident of 1989," he said.
