To improve the people's living standards and eliminate bureaucratism and cadre privileges, the Chinese reformers led by Deng Xiaoping after the Cultural Revolution appreciated the significance of socialist democracy and restored local elections. A revised Electoral Law was adopted in 1979. But its implementation encountered resistance from conservative cadres and a backward political culture. According to the author, elections in China today only play a limited role in mobilization, political education, legitimation etc. on public policy. Direct elections at the county level and below, however, better interest articulation and supervision of local governments. (DÜI-Sen)
The signing of an eight-year private trade agreement between the PRC and Japan in February 1978 and the conclusion of the Sino-Japanese treaty of peace and friendship in August 1978 laid the foundation for the PRC's Japan policy in the period after the fall of the Gang of Four. The evolution of this policy since the fall of the Gang of Four is traced, the achievements and problems of the Sino-Japanese relation-ship analysed and the implications of this relationship for the Asia-Pacific region assessed in this article. New trends in Chinese foreign policy in the 1980s. (DÜI-Sen)
The Chinese leadership is still reluctant to accept any reforms that are perceived to cause an erosion of the Communist Party of China's monopoly of political power, although it is eager to improve governance, especially at the grassroots level. Participatory budgetary reforms as represented by the Wenling model are therefore perceived by some academics and local reformers as a channel through which breakthroughs in grassroots democracy in terms of public participation and government accountability can be achieved. Apparently this has gained some support from the top leadership-because some leaders are keen to reduce deficits and ensure budget transparency and accountability in local governments as well as at the top leadership-which now wants to combat corruption. Naturally, there is strong resistance because local governments are unwilling to limit their room for manoeuvre in terms of government expenditure and give up their control of extra-budgetary funds. While existing literature concentrates on the reform model and its rationale, this article offers a detailed empirical description of the actual reform processes at the local level. The Wenling consultative budgetary reforms were lauded and encouraged by Hu Jintao's report to the 18th Party Congress on 8 November 2012. This offered the official support that the reformers needed, and provided the momentum they required to continue reforms and even promote them in other local governments. Of particular concern, however, is the intention of the Chinese leadership to incorporate this type of consultative mechanism into the framework of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference; such a change would fall below the expectations of those who wish to secure breakthroughs in political participation. (China/GIGA)
