Jiang steps down but still shows
up By Wang Yijiang
HONG KONG
- It is widely believed that the power hand over from
the third to the fourth generation of Chinese leaders
finally was completed when "Phantom Regent" Jiang Zemin
stepped down last month as commander-in-chief - chairman
of the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP's) Central
Military Commission. However, Jiang's recent
high-profile public appearances and moves suggest that
he is reluctant to bow out from the political stage any
time soon, and he appears to ignore calls to bring down
the curtain on his leadership.
After his
official retirement, the only official title that Jiang
still holds is chairman of the State Central Military
Commission (CMC), a more or less symbolic position that
is often held by the chairman of the party's CMC. The
party's military post is far more powerful. Moderate,
reformist Hu Jintao, Jiang's successor and the helmsman
of the fourth generation of leaders, now concurrently
controls the state, the Communist Party and the armed
forces.
On more than one official occasion since
stepping down, however, Jiang showed up and stole the
limelight. The CCP's official Xinhua News Agency
reported on October 5 that Jiang joined new
commander-in-chief Hu Jintao and other senior officials
in sending telegrams to North Korean leaders to
commemorate the 55th anniversary of the establishment of
Sino-North Korean diplomatic relations. The news agency
also reported that on September 17 (as he was stepping
down at the party meeting) Jiang co-signed and
promulgated a military regulation, with incumbent
Premier Wen Jiabao. Then on October 11, Jiang met with
the visiting French President Jacques Chirac in
Shanghai.
In the first two reports, Jiang's name
appeared second in the long list of attending officials.
In the Chinese book of rules, the officials' order of
appearance is virtually their political ranking.
Political commentators point out that the high profile
awarded to Jiang is unusual for an elderly, retiring
party heavyweight who only holds a symbolic position,
given that all his public appearances took place after
he stepped down.
According to the usual practice
in China, Jiang should have kept a much lower profile,
as did his predecessors, including Deng Xiaoping, the
chief architect of China's economic reforms, after
hanging up their spurs.
Then why did Jiang not
follow suit? Some analysts argue that Jiang now has an
equal footing - alongside Hu - in the decision-making of
China's military, retaining his share of control of the
armed forces. Another plausible explanation, some
assert, is that a secret deal had been struck inside the
party: Jiang still has a final say on major issues, a
common occurrence in the history of the Communist Party.
Before his full retirement in 1989, Deng Xiaoping
managed to pull the strings behind the scene by pushing
through in the 1987 party plenum a secret resolution,
which said he must be consulted before any major
decisions were made.
A deluge of documentaries
hyping the accomplishments of Jiang's era has been
overwhelming television, all made by the party's most
important propaganda machine (China Central Television,
CCTV). These efforts can be regarded as the final
assessment of Jiang - this usually is done for major
politicians before their complete retreat from the
political arena. So the television propagandizing has
led political observers to jump to a conclusion: Jiang's
era is really over now, and this is the final, official
tribute to a departing leader.
Political pundits
have different interpretations of Jiang's latest
high-profile appearances, but they do agree on one
thing: Jiang's persistent hands-on approach flies in the
face of the hands-off manner (when he finally decided to
back off and hand power to a younger generation) of the
late supreme leader Deng Xiaoping. When Deng decided to
completely retreat from the top echelon back in 1994, he
really meant it - no more pulling strings and
manipulating behind the scenes.
In a July 28
interview with CCTV, Deng's eldest daughter, Deng Lin,
reaffirmed her father's hands-off manner and his strong
faith in his successors after retirement. "I think, from
every single perspective, he is right in his decision to
leave the job entirely to his successor without
unnecessary interference. This could help speed up the
maturity of the younger generations in the party," Deng
Lin said.
She further stressed that Deng set a
positive example in the power hand over and injection of
new blood in the leadership. In 1989, on his own
initiative, Deng offered to resign as chairman of the
CMC. As early as 1980, Deng had already proposed to
abolish the life-term given to senior positions in both
the government and the party.
Unlike Deng
Xiaoping who kept his promise of complete retirement,
Jiang still refuses to bow out - even after resigning
from all of his major positions. If this is true, one
could expect further wrangling and power struggles. Or,
CCTV may be extolling Jiang in a final tribute, a real
farewell.
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