Wake up（375）

 

Chapter 65 Legacy

 

375

 

Nanyangsheng, Wanru, Qin Xiling, Lin Beixue, Shen Haidong, Zhou Yuzhong, a group of doctoral students, and the old dean Bai Yu, Hong Wenxuan, and Shen Zhirui gathered at the Cafe Bau restaurant in Hong Kong. It is about those things during the Hu-Wen period. But the opinions are not consistent, and there is no consensus.

The old dean Bai Yu is a staunch nationalist and a typical conservative. He issued a report card for Hu and Wen for ten years.

White Feather said somewhat conclusively:

With the opening of the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, Hu Jintao, General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, and Wen Jiabao, Premier Wen Jiabao, will end their 10-year terms. At that time, "political legacy" suddenly became a buzzword, and the streets and alleys took inventory of Hu and Wen's performance in the past ten years. Many people think that Hu Jintao has done nothing while in power, but I don't think so.

Hu Jintao came from a commoner background and had no background, nor did Wen Jiabao. It was not easy for them to gain a foothold in the party, and it was even more difficult for them to carry out drastic reforms. Although the space is limited, Hu Jintao still tried to change in many places. Although people often forget or ignore some changes and feel that they are insignificant, these changes have positive significance for the future.

There is no doubt that the current problems and crises are unprecedentedly urgent and need to be resolved urgently. But when we talk about Hu and Wen's merits and demerits in the past ten years, we should not blame everything on one or two people. The policies followed by Hu and Wen are in line with those of Deng Xiaoping and the policies of the 14th and 15th central collective leaders with Jiang Zemin at the core. Collective merits and demerits.

Now, let us examine the examination papers submitted by Hu and Wen in the past ten years. The scores are naturally up to you.

Hu and Wen have left a legacy of domestic and foreign affairs in the past ten years.

Despite being criticized for being weak by the hawks, Hu Jintao has so far maintained relative restraint in dealing with the Diaoyu Islands and the South China Sea issue. Mao Zedong sent troops to North Korea in 1950; Deng Xiaoping taught Vietnam a lesson in 1979; Jiang Zemin launched missiles and military exercises against Taiwan in 1996. In contrast, Hu Jintao vigorously advocated "peaceful rise" and later changed to a more moderate "peaceful development". Military inaction and restraint can somewhat dilute the anxiety and tension caused by China's rise to neighboring countries. Conflict is, after all, the last option chosen when a problem cannot be resolved. Hu Jintao reversed cross-strait relations, which had been strained by the 1996 Taiwan Strait crisis. In the past, when the CCP dealt with the Taiwan issue, it either passively healed the head and the foot when it hurt, or fell into a war of words. Since Hu Jintao came to power, he first devoted himself to solving the problems left over from history. On the issue of the historical status of the Kuomintang, he faced the opposition from the military and resisted all opinions. He affirmed the contribution of the Kuomintang in the War of Resistance Against Japan. Fundamental improvements have been made, and the non-governmental and official exchanges between the two sides of the strait have become closer. However, it will take time for the two sides of the strait to achieve genuine political mutual trust and resolve the Taiwan issue. It can be said that Hu Jintao's actions back then are in stark contrast to the current Taiwan crisis. Taiwan's war has become a world topic.

In terms of government operations, when Hu Jintao came to power, he decided that the five central leadership groups, namely the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, the National People's Congress, the State Council, the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, and the Central Military Commission, would no longer work in Beidaihe in the summer. traditional system. In recent years, this cost has reached hundreds of millions of yuan every year, mobilizing as many as thousands of staff. In 2003, Hu Jintao also canceled the leader's overseas visits and return ceremonies to Beijing, which cost people and money. The abolition of these two systems not only saves manpower and material resources, but also an attempt to simplify the red tape of the Communist Party. Take a look at Beidaihe now. Even though it is flooded and Xi Jinping never appears on the front line of the disaster area, he still goes to Beidaihe for summer vacation with senior officials and experts. The contrast is so strong. People are shouting: where have you been?

Hu Jintao also quietly broke the party's taboo not to mention Hu Yaobang in public after June 4th, and held a commemorative event for Hu Yaobang's 90th birthday in 2005. In addition, domestic search engines allow searches for "Zhao Ziyang", although sensitive content has been filtered. However, people in Guiyang have not been officially stopped from commemorating June 4 this year. After Liu Binyan, who had been wandering overseas for many years, died of illness in 2005, he was allowed to return to China for burial in 2010. What now? Spies are being caught everywhere, traitors are being cleaned up. Sealing and sealing are normalized.

On the North Korean nuclear issue, China no longer rigidly adheres to its diplomatic principle of non-interference in each other's internal affairs, but has begun to participate in mediation pragmatically and responsibly, using its influence to keep North Korea within the framework of the Six-Party Talks. Contributed to peace and stability in Asia. However, the current situation in the Asia-Pacific is severe. The United States, Japan, and South Korea have united, and the Indo-Pacific region is not very stable.

After 2002, important incidents in which provincial and ministerial officials were “accounted for” and even removed from office included: the SARS incident in 2003; the navy 361 submarine accident in April of the same year; the Chongqing Kaixian blowout accident in December; the Songhua River pollution accident in November 2005; In 2008, the Sanlu milk powder incident in Hebei; in September, the Xiangfen dam collapse in Shanxi. But China's accountability system is going backwards. Should Zhuozhou be held accountable for flooding Zhuozhou to defend Xiong'an? There are so many unfinished engineering accidents in China, who should be held accountable?

At the same time, however, the corruption of officials has not been brought under control, but has intensified. Governments at all levels are extravagant and wasteful, and it is common for officials and officials to protect each other. China's anti-corruption white paper shows that from 2003 to 2009, procuratorial organs at all levels filed and investigated more than 240,000 cases of corruption, bribery, dereliction of duty and infringement of rights, an average of 94 cases per day. Under Hu Jintao's rule, not one, but two members of the Politburo were dismissed and investigated. This is also unprecedented since the reform and opening up.

Although Premier Wen Jiabao has repeatedly called for political reform, he has not received clear support from others, and reform has stalled.

On the issue of ethnic minorities, it is still faltering. Large-scale riots broke out in Tibetan areas in 2008; Tibetan protests continued to occur during the Beijing Olympic torch relay; since March 2009, more than 50 Tibetan monks have protested against self-immolation, and the number is still rising; It is still unknown whether the Dalai Lama will return to Tibet in his lifetime. In addition, large-scale violent riots occurred in Urumqi, Xinjiang in 2009. To this day, the gap between Uighurs and Han people is still difficult to eliminate, and the security situation is worrying.

Hu and Wen also left an economic legacy in ten years.

At that time, pessimism about China was everywhere. However, not only did China not collapse, but it developed rapidly in the past 10 years, and it was still standing in the East when Europe and the United States fell into economic crisis. China's GDP has maintained an average double-digit growth every year, and the total has nearly quadrupled, surpassing Germany and Japan to become the world's second largest economy. In 2011, China's total import and export volume of goods trade ranked second in the world, becoming the world's largest exporter and second largest importer for three consecutive years. In just 30 years of reform and opening up, China has become the world's largest foreign exchange reserve country. It has grown more than 10 times in 10 years. China has changed from a country receiving aid and loans to a country exporting loans and aid. In 2010, the number of millionaire households in China exceeded one million, ranking third in the world, but the gap between rich and poor has widened further.

In the context of rapid economic development, in 2003 Hu Jintao put forward the "scientific development concept", that is, "people-oriented, comprehensive, coordinated and sustainable". While developing the economy, more attention should be paid to issues such as balancing development and efficiency, and environmental pollution. But at the same time, the model of state advancement and private retreat has made it difficult for the most dynamic private small and medium-sized enterprises to obtain financing. The heavy tax pressure has made it even more difficult for small and medium-sized enterprises to survive under the severe economic situation.

The economic and industrial structure is deformed and has to be adjusted, but it is difficult to realize industrial optimization and upgrading, and the future is uncertain. China's economic structure relies too much on exports. As an important force in the troika that drives economic development, consumption has yet to play a real role in stimulating domestic demand. Local governments pursued huge investments and borrowed on a large scale, which was perilous.

Hu and Wen also left behind a social and people's livelihood legacy in ten years.

The agricultural tax was abolished in 2006, benefiting hundreds of millions of farmers.

The reform of the medical system has achieved initial results. According to the National Bureau of Statistics, in 2011, the population covered by medical insurance has exceeded 1.3 billion, and the per capita medical subsidy has increased from 80 yuan in 2008 to 200 yuan. Despite the progress, the overall medical insurance system is still not perfect, the amount of reimbursement is too small, and the problems of difficult and expensive medical treatment for residents have not been resolved.

Since 2010, the urbanization process has advanced rapidly. According to the report of the Academy of Social Sciences, the urban permanent population reached 691 million in 2011, and the urbanization rate reached 51.27%, an increase of 12.26 percentage points compared with 2002. The urban permanent population increased by 189 million people. However, a series of problems such as low land use efficiency, chaotic construction planning, and environmental degradation have also emerged one after another.

In 2008, the Wenchuan earthquake was dealt with decisively by the CCP, and the army was put into disaster relief in a timely manner, which won unanimous praise both at home and abroad. However, frequent food safety issues have made the public worried.

After Hu Jintao came to power, he put forward the concept of building a "harmonious society". However, due to serious corruption, widening gap between rich and poor, intensified social conflicts, and frequent mass incidents, there is still a long way to go from "harmonious". The formulation of the "Property Law" legally recognizes private rights, which is a progress. After the Sun Zhigang incident in 2003, Wen Jiabao abolished the detention and repatriation system. However, Liu Xiaobo's imprisonment, harassment of Ai Weiwei, and Chen Guangcheng's house arrest and escape have repeatedly damaged China's international image. "Stability over everything else" is still the Communist Party's key to governing, but individual officials often overreact and overcorrect when dealing with such issues.

Although Chinese people are still subject to many restrictions on website access and online speech, it cannot be denied that China’s Internet has become the freest space in society. People dare to openly question and criticize the government. Weibo is also an important political forum. new phenomenon. This is in great contrast to today's strict control over the Internet.

In 2003, hundreds of thousands of citizens in Hong Kong took to the streets to protest against the adoption of the "23 Articles" of the Basic Law concerning human rights and democracy. Although Hong Kong people still have many dissatisfaction, the CCP should be affirmed for conforming to the people's will. This is completely different from the "anti-extradition" movement and suppression in Hong Kong in the post-era.

In addition, before the Beijing Olympics, the CCP also loosened control over foreign media, allowing foreign journalists to travel to various parts of China freely without prior application. But now it is impossible for foreign media journalists to obtain the legal status and respect they deserve in China.

A scientific and educational cultural heritage left by Hu and Wen for ten years.

After the reform and opening up, Mao Zedong has stepped down from the altar for most Chinese people, and communism is no longer the belief of the whole people. In order to fill this spiritual vacuum, Hu Jintao agreed to hold the first World Buddhist Forum in Hangzhou in 2006, and packaged Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism as traditional culture, solving the problem that the promotion of religion was contrary to the CCP's atheism. At that time, the secretary of the provincial party committee of Zhejiang, the host city, was Xi Jinping. At the same time, Hu Jintao upgraded the Institute of Marxism-Leninism of the Academy of Social Sciences to the Institute of Marxism, and invested huge sums of money to show his firm belief in Marxism-Leninism and appease conservative forces in the party. However, Chinese people are losing their faith now, and "lay flat" has become the most popular new term.

China's high-speed railways have created a leap-forward development that has taken Western countries decades to achieve. By the end of the "Twelfth Five-Year Plan" period, the high-speed railways will reach more than 16,000 kilometers. But behind this, corruption and quality and safety issues represented by the Liu Zhijun case and the rear-end accident on the Yongwen Line have caused concern.

The successful hosting of the long-awaited Beijing Olympic Games has given the descendants of Yan and Huang, who have been suppressed by the heavy history for a long time, even more confidence in their own country.

Hu Jintao also successfully turned the "danger" into an "opportunity", decisively dealt with the SARS epidemic in 2003, released information in a timely manner, and severely punished officials who concealed the report. This is obviously not the same as the three-year closure of the city.

Hu and Wen also left a military legacy for China in ten years.

It was precisely because of Hu Jintao's final decision in 2003 that China's first aircraft carrier "Liaoning Ship" was officially launched. China also has advanced anti-ship missiles and anti-satellite weapons to strike aircraft carriers. The launch of the Shenzhou V manned spacecraft marked that China became the third country after the former Soviet Union and the United States to be able to send people into space alone.

The old dean Bai Yu said to the teachers and students: I have issued this report card for Hu Wen's ten years. I do not agree with Hu Jintao's 10 years of mediocrity. Those of us old people have experienced material deprivation and lawlessness during the Mao Zedong period. Most old people are generally satisfied with the current situation, while the young and middle-aged generation who grew up with the reform and opening up are faced with more opportunities and more choices. It is also higher, and it is easier to be dissatisfied with problems such as high housing prices and difficulty in seeing a doctor. For young people, one-party dictatorship has not won their trust. If it is done well, it should be done, and if it is not done well, it should be scolded.

Professor Hong Wenxuan said: I agree with the old dean because I am also an old man. I think Hu Wengong has done more than he did, but China is still facing a huge crisis, that is, official corruption and the national crisis of faith caused by spiritual vacuum. The Communist Party is still facing Challenges to governing legitimacy.

Professor Shen Zhirui said: The progress in the past ten years cannot be attributed to Hu and Wen alone, but the failed expectations and mistakes of the people in the past ten years cannot be attributed to both of them. Its historical status and merits and demerits may be seen more clearly by young people than us old people. We should look at the 10 years of Hu and Wen in power realistically, and not just blindly criticize. All of China's problems cannot be completely resolved within one or two terms of one or two leaders. Hu Jintao is neither a political strongman nor a great man, but he is a sensible man. He does his job without fussing. The achievements and deficiencies of the Hu-Wen era can only be tested slowly by young people. Each generation of leaders needs to solve the problems left over from the previous generation. This is true for the emperors in ancient China, and it is the same for today's rulers. We old people can only wait and see how the new generation of leadership will perform. The right to speak should be in the hands of young people, and only they can truly control China's future destiny.