China: dissent inside the by the previous South Korean federation of student councils,
Communist Party
Chondaehyop. In subsequent years, the nifestion Rectivel had the Unification Festival has alternated between the North and the South, drawing Korean activists Zhang Kai from abroad as well as from the
The Chinese Communist Party theoretical two Koreas. During the confrontation during review Qiu Shi, No.13, includes an article by this year's festival, North Korean General SecretaryJiang Zemin, 'On
Politics'. Jiang criticises "some cadres" for: officials and students staged their part of the Festival in the northern not reading any books or journals; not half of Panmunjom truce village on studying party documents; not considering August 15th. issues or problems from political pers3. Hanchongnyon was formed in pectives; lacking political discretion and sen1993, one year after the first Grand sitivity; not implementing party policies they Unification Festival. The do not like; and ignoring party instructions. Federation chairperson, 25 year-old Jiang writes that "regionalism and protecChong Myong-ki, 25, is also tionism in some areas and student council president at some departments have Chonnam National University in become very serious." He Kwangju. The present Policy acknowledges that, for partial Consultation Committee of or individual interests, Hanchongnyon, made up of 20-30 criminal acts have been militants, took office in April, protected. around the same time that South Considering that this Korean government circles began criticism supposedly refers muttering about the "dangerous only to "some" party cadres, levels" of student activism on the list is rather long. campuses. The executive Xing Fensi, Vice President committee, which is the governing of the Party Cadre School and body of Hanchongnyon, consists of 1,600 representatives of the the Deputy Head of the Party
Central Ideological Leadership participating councils. It determines action plans and policy Team, is more direct than initiatives. Jiang. On June 6 he wrote a There are two basic political long article in the People's tendencies within Hanchongnyon: Daily entitled "Unwavering in persisting on National Liberation (NL) and Marxism — drawing a clear distinction Populace Democracy (PD). One between Marxism and anti-Marxism", , The government report claims that anti- article admits that "there are indeed government activists dominate 117 differences on some signiticant theoretical out of a total of 169 four-year and practical problems , and that "there have universities across the nation. NL already been rather significant interferences activists lead the student councils with the overall situation." of 94 universities including Yonsei • He refutes two "erroneous" views, one and Korea National University in being that there is no more hope for state Seoul and Chonnam National enterprises and the only way out is University in Kwangju. According privatization; the other being that the to this report, Seoul National Unishareholding form for state enterprises is versity and Sogang University are headed by conservative PD fol- also a form of private ownership. Xing lowers, while Ehwa Women's argues that shareholding is not University is led by the 21st Cen- privatization. tury Progressive Student Front. • Xing criticises the view that the serious None of these latter universities polarization in distribution has caused the have managed to garner much en- emergence of a new bourgeois class. thusiasm for actions either on or Nevertheless, three researchers from the off their campuses. The PD People's University have established that tendency decided not to take part the Gini coefficient in China in 1994 is in the 3-day Grand Unification higher than that of the USA in 1990, Festival which opened last Tuesday indicating serious discrepancies between at Yonsei, suggesting that the rich and the poor in China. (New participation was a matter of China Digest, February 1996). According individual student choice. to the State Statistics Bureau, in 1994 the registered capital of privately run and 4. Hanchongnyon is the southern individual enterprises amounted to 441.8 partner in Pomchonghangnyon, the million Yuan ($1 = 8 Yuan). This is nine League of Pan-national Youth and Students. The League was estab- times higher than in 1990. lished in 1992 to stage joint North • He argues that it is not valid to negate and South student rallies for the Reform by Socialism, or adversely, to national unification. It facilitates negate socialism by the reform, open-door fax communication between policy and market economy." students in the North and the South • Xing tries to argue that China's through its liaison office in Berlin. "socialist market economy" is different from the capitalist market economy, because "public ownership is the pillar"
and because of "state macro-economic control.
Xing's defence of Deng Xiaoping's theory of building socialism with Chinese characteristics is rather feeble. In reality, China has become a key site for imperialist investments. The People's Daily of July 14, made a front page appeal for people not to boycott foreign capital by resorting to uncritical defense of the national industries.
Other media have been more independent-minded. China's State and Strength, No.6, argues otherwise, saying that uncontrolled foreign capital will break the domestic economic 'ecology', causing considerable social turmoil. Qiu Xiaohua of the State Statistical Bureau claims that this investment means
• 50-60% of domestic industrial consumer goods will be replaced by foreign capita and one-third of the industrial goods market being taken up by foreign cap
• unequal competition increases the difficulties of state-owned enterprises,
• regional competition for foreign capital has caused the drain of state property: • structural imbalance in investments, = funds concentrating on high-priced property, entertainment facilities and processing industries.
Intra-party struggle is heating up. At least two anonymous papers are circulating. One is entitled *Factors affecting our state security", and the other is against peaceful transformation. These papers warn that a new bureaucrat bourgeoisie and comprador bourgeoisie is emerging, and critique the flooding of bourgeois liberalization since 1992. However, both call for strict party ideological control. It is seen that the papers represent the manifesto of the Stalinist faction within the party. * Reprinted from Ocruber Ranies 10144. Hong King e-mail
Nowember 1996 K082 38
* Senegal