Jiang: Reformer or rehasher?

Jiang is urging his people to 'liberate thoughts, seek truth from facts, and progress with the times.'

(CNN) -- President Jiang Zemin is spearheading an attempt at a new thought liberation movement he hopes will help re-invent China -- and consolidate his legacy as a reformer.

In speeches in Beijing and the provinces the past few weeks, Jiang has proclaimed an era of the "three innovations": new ways of thinking, new ways of doing things, and new mechanisms and institutions.

Jiang told cadres while touring the western metropolis of Chongqing last week: "We must liberate our thoughts, seek truth from facts, and progress with the times."

"Breaking new ground and making innovations are the soul of Marxism," he said.

True to his belief that good things come in threes, Jiang indicated the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) must stir up society's "enthusiasm, sense of initiative, and creativity."

"We must establish a mentality of openness, a market-oriented frame of mind, and a sense of innovation," he added.

The party chief also repeated his theory of the "three breakthroughs" that he had first stated while visiting the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences last month: "We must use breakthroughs in theory to bring about breakthroughs in systems and institutions -- and breakthroughs in science and technology."

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And while attending an artistic performance in Beijing last Sunday, Jiang expressed a keen interest in building an "advanced culture."

He pointed out that ideal Chinese civilization must be "geared toward modernization, toward the world, and toward the future."

Quite clearly, theories such as those about the "three innovations" and "three breakthroughs" will rank with the now-famous Theory of the Three Represents (that the CCP must represent the foremost production forces, the best culture, and the people's interests) as the core of the Jiang legacy.

The big question is whether Jiang, who is as loquacious as late patriarch Deng Xiaoping is taciturn, is merely indulging in rehashed and high-sounding sloganeering. Or is there something new?

It is important to note that like Deng and Chairman Mao, Jiang believes in the so-called "two-fisted approach" to problem-solving, otherwise known as "walking on two legs."

Liberalism

These are a shorthand for striking a balance between innovation and conservatism -- or between liberalizing the system on the one hand, and preserving the CCP's prerogatives and one-party dictatorship on the other.

According to the political climate and the audience, Deng and Jiang have at times played up liberalism with Chinese characteristics -- and at other times stressed iron-fisted control and "stability above all else."

And until Jiang has categorically renounced repression and "proletarian dictatorship," his commitment to relative liberalization has to be taken with more than a grain of salt.

However, it is significant that probably until the critical 16th CCP Congress this autumn, which will see a wholesale leadership change, Jiang will be giving top billing to liberal elements both in his own thinking and that of the party.

While in Chongqing, Jiang quoted Deng Xiaoping's famous aphorism: "It stands to reason that we put [economic] development first."

Jiang then added something of his own: "Yet development requires new ways of thinking."

Marxism no panacea

Jiang admits development requires new ways of thinking

The president's argument that innovation is the "soul" of Marxism is remarkable for its freedom from ideological baggage.

It recalls former party chief Hu Yaobang's famous statement in the mid-1980s that "we cannot expect Marxism to solve all the questions of the day."

The new emphasis that Jiang has put on systems and institutions -- as against the rule of personality -- is also noteworthy.

Relatively liberal cadres ranging from Deng to former National People's Congress chairman Qiao Shi have argued that only strong institutions -- not charismatic, helmsman-like figures -- can lead China down the road of prosperity and strength.

More importantly, a source close to the preparation for the 16th Party Congress said Jiang would accentuate the party's pro-open door and pro-market tradition in his Political Report to the pivotal gathering.

The source said Jiang would pledge that the CCP would shepherd China on to a new long march that would put the country "within the front ranks of strong countries" in areas including the economy, culture, diplomacy and the military.

More specifically, Jiang would vow that in 15 years' time, about half of the country -- mostly coastal provinces and cities but also big inland hubs such as Chongqing and Xian -- will have attained basic levels of economic well-being and begun to enter what he calls the "second stage" of modernization.

"The criteria that Jiang's aides have spelled out for the second stage of modernization include fairly predictable norms such as globalization and facility with IT," the source said.

"But there are also unexpected criteria such as the ability of the individual to live up to his full potentials -- and Chinese-style democracy."

What's new?

Also at the 16th Congress, Jiang is expected to take a leaf from Deng's book by declaring a war on leftism, or quasi-Maoist ideas such as class struggle.

This is mainly due to leftists' views that pro-market cadres such as Jiang and Premier Zhu Rongji are closet "capitalist-roaders" similar to former Russian leaders Mikhail Gorbachev and Boris Yeltsin.

Obviously, Jiang's big challenge is to put his money where his slogans are, that is, come up with real actions -- and institutions -- to convince the world that he himself is willing to set an example for "new ways of doing things."

For instance, given the anemic conditions of domestic opposition groups such as the China Democracy Party, Jiang may consider loosening up the CCP's draconian policies on muzzling free-thinking intellectuals.

He may also opt for a fresh approach in dealing with dissidents, through, for example, approving the petitions of those based in the U.S. who want to return and work for the China's modernization.

The party chief can also set the stage for change by demonstrating his respect for institutions – including the retire-at-70 rule – through stepping down from all positions within the year.

Up to now, however, Jiang has chosen to hide behind the dubious excuse that he needs "stability" to pursue thorough-going reform -- and that he cannot afford to let pro-democracy intellectuals rock the ship of state at this delicate juncture.

Jiang's apparent belief in institutions notwithstanding, he has gone along with the arguments of civilian and military advisers that he should retain the chairmanship of the military commission so that a heavyweight figure will remain to steer the course of reform.

This is despite the fact that his aides are just telling Jiang what he likes to hear – and that in good old CCP tradition, they stand to gain in power and perks should their boss stay on at the helm for a few more years.