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Spreading unrest in China has the Party's undivided attention

SPECIAL TO WORLD TRIBUNE.COM
Friday, May 26, 2006

Social unrest among the disaffected in the midst of China's economic boom is a growing problem, which the Communist Party is struggling to contain.

“Public order disturbances” increased by 50 percent in the past two years from 58,000 incidents in 2003 to 87,000 in 2005, according to a May 8 report by the Congressional Research Service. China specialists told a private gathering at a recent briefing in Washington that the real numbers of incidents are significantly larger.

“The potential for widespread social upheaval has captured the keen attention of the Communist Party leadership,” the report stated.

“Although political observers have described social unrest among farmers and workers since the early 1990s, recent protest activities have been broader in scope, larger in average size, greater in frequency and more brash than those of a decade ago,” the report said.

“Fears of greater unrest have triggered debates with the Communist Party leadership about the pace of economic reforms and the proper way to respond to protesters.”

Chinese dissident sources say communist leaders in Beijing are worried by the unrest since similar conditions existed prior to the fall of the Qin Dynasty. China’s leaders believe the unrest is a harbinger of the fall of communism.

“Growing disparities of income, official corruption and the lack of democratic institutions are likely to continue to fuel social unrest,” the report said.

The report said the government in the mid-term is likely to contain the protests through a mixture of accommodation and force. It defined unrest as involving protests, demonstrations, picketing and group petitioning.

Most analysts do not expect the unrest to evolve into a national political movement unless linkages among disaffected groups strengthen and other social groups, particularly the middle class, intellectuals and students, also join the protests, the report said.

The report said Congress could increase assistance to local democracy and rule-of-law programs in China and support a free press and independent judiciary.


Copyright © 2006 East West Services, Inc.

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