THe Era of Jiang Zemin

Jiang Zemin

Introduction

retired Chinese politician (b. 1926)
He served as
a) General Secretary of the Communist Party of China from 1989 to 2002.
b) Chairman of the Central Military Commission from 1989 to 2004.
c) President of the People's Republic of China from 1993 to 2003.
Jiang has been described as the "core of the third generation of Communist Party leaders since 1989.
He came to power unexpectedly as a compromise candidate" following the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989.
This was when he replaced Zhao Ziyang as General Secretary.
Zhang Ziyang was thrown out for supporting the student movement.
Jiang consolidated his hold on power for two reasons.
a) he influenced eight Elders due to old age.
b) the death of Deng Xiaoping
He became "paramount leader" of the country in the 1990s
Under Jiang's leadership, China experienced
a) substantial economic growth with the continuation of reforms.
b) the peaceful return of Hong Kong from the United Kingdom & Macao from Portugal
c) improved its relations with the outside world.
d) The communist Party maintained its tight control over the government.
Jiang has been criticized for
a) being too concerned about his personal image at home.
b) being too conciliatory towards Russia & the United States abroad.
His contributions to party doctrine was the "Three Represents."
They were written into the Party's constitution in 2002.
Jiang vacated the post of Party General Secretary in 2002.
He did not relinquished all of his leadership titles until 2005.
He continued to influence affairs until much later.
At the age of 91, Jiang Zemin id currently the oldest living former General Secretary & President.

Background

Jiang was born in the city of Yangzhou, Jiangsu.
His ancestral home was Jiangxi in Wuyuan County Jiangxi.
This was also the hometown of a number of prominent figures in Chinese academic & intellectual establishments.
Jiang grew up during the years of Japanese occupation.
His uncle, also his foster father, Jiang Shangqing, died fighting the Japanese in World War II.
this was considered in Jiang Zemin's time to be a national hero.
Jiang Shangqing had no heirs.
Jiang's biological father Jiang Shin ruled the Nanking government.
He let Jiang become the adopted son of Shangqing's wife, his aunt, Wang Zhelan, to whom he referred to as "Niang" ("Mom")
There is some doubt if Jiang was really adopted at that time.
Shangqing's daughter Zehui once said her family was too poor to have enough food after his death.
This showed that Jiang Zemin'a father, despite his wealth & power, never supported Shangqing's family.
It was unlikely for Jiang Zemin's father to allow Jiang Shangqing to adopt Zemin, because in Chinese tradition, Zemin, an eldest son, would not be adopted.

Education

Jiang attended the Department Electrical Engineering at the National Central University in Japan-occupied Nanjing.
This was before he transferred to National Chiao Tung University
He graduated there in 1947 with a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering.
Jiang married Wang Yeping in 1949, from Yangzhou.
She graduated from Shanghai International Studies University.
They have two sons, Jiang Mianheng & Jiang Miankang.

Work

He claimed that he joined the Communist Party of China when he was in college.
Jiang got his training at the Stalin Automobile Works.
This was in Moscow in the 1950s.
He also worked for Changchun's First Automobile Works.
He was transferred to government services.
This is where he began to rise In prominence and rank.
He later became a member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party.
He was Minister of Electronic Industries in 1983.

Mayor of Shanghai

In 1985 he became mayor of Shanghai
Subsequently he became the Party Secretary of Shanghai - he received mixed reviews as mayor.
Many of his critics dismissed him as a "flower pot."
That is the Chinese term for someone who only seems useful, but actually gets nothing done.
Credit for Shanghai's growth went to Zhu Rongji.
Jiang was an ardent believer in Deng Xiaoping's economic reforms.
Inan attempt to curb student discontent in 1986, Jiang recited the Gettysburg Address in English in front of student protesters

Personality

Jiang was described as having a passable command of several languages, including Romanian, Russian, and English.
One of his favourite activities was to engage foreign visitors in small talk on arts & literature in their native language.
He also liked to sing foreign songs in their original language.

National Politics

Jiang was elevated to national politics in 1987 becoming a member of the Politburo of the CPC Central Committee.
In 1989, China was in a crisis over the Tiananmen Square protest.
The central government was in conflict on how to handle the protestors.
In June, Deng Xiaoping dismissed Zhao Ziyang
Zhao was considered to be too conciliatory toward the student protesters,.
At that time Jiang was the Shanghai Party Secretary.
this made him the top figure in China's new economic centre.
In an incident with the World Economic Herald Jiang closed down the newspaper, deemed it to be harmful.

Early Leadership

Jiang was elevated to the country's top job in 1989.
This gave him with a small power base inside the Party.
In this way he had very actual power.
His most reliable allies were the powerful Party elders
These were Chen Yuh & Li Xiannian.
He was just a transitional figure.
this would be until a more stable successor government to Deng could be put in place.
Other prominent Party & military figures, like Yang Shangkun & brother Yang Baibing were believed to bet planning a coup.
Jiang used Deng Xiaoping as a back-up to his leadership in the first few years.
Jiang, who was believed to have a Neo-conservative slant warned against "bourgeois liberalization"
Deng believed that the only solution to keeping the legitimacy of Communist rule over China was to continue the drive for modernization and economic reform.
This placed him at odds with Jiang.
After the Tiananmen massacre of 1989, Jiang criticized the previous period as "hard on the economy, soft on politics."
He advocated increasing political thought work.

Criticisms & Responses

Deng increased his criticisms of Jiang's leadership in 1992.
On southern tours, he suggested that the pace of reform was not fast enough.
Jiang became more cautious.
He supported Deng's reforms completely.
in 1993 Jiang suggested to move China's centrally planned socialist economy into an essentially government-regulated capitalist market economy.
It was a Hugh step to take within the realization of Deng's "Socialism with Chinese characteristics"
At the same time Jiang elevated many of his supporters from Shanghai to high government positions.
This was after regaining Deng's confidence.
He abolished the outdated Central Advisory Committee.
This was an advisory body.
It was made up of revolutionary party elders.
Jiang then became
a) General Secretary of the Communist Party of China.
b) Chairman of the Central Military Commission in 1989.
His election to the President took place in March 1993.

Leading China

In the early 1990s, economic reforms had stabilized.
The country was on a consistent growth trajectory.
But China faced lots of economic & social problems.
At Deng's state funeral (1997) Jiang delivered the elder statesman's eulogy.
Jiang had inherited a China filled with political corruption.
Regional economies were growing too rapidly for there stability of the entire country.
Deng's policy had suggested that "some areas can get rich before others."
This led to an opening wealth gap between coastal regions & the interior provinces.
This unprecedented economic growth and the deregulation in a number of heavy industries led to the closing of many state-owed enterprises.
Then unemployment rates skyrocketed
It was as high as 40% in some urban areas.
Stock markets fluctuated greatly
The increase of rural migration into urban areas was unprecedented anywhere.
Very little was being done to address a problem.
This was the ever-increasing urban-rural wealth gap.
China's GDP was being moved and abused by corrupt officials was 10%.
Illegal bonds made things unstable.
These came from civil & military officials.
It resulted in much of the corrupted wealth.
This ended up in foreign countries.
China experienced a re-emergence of organized crime.
This surge in crime rates began to plague cities.
Another problem to emerge dealt with the environment.
The destruction of the environment was ignored.
These concerns were voiced by intellectuals

Jiang's biggest aim in the economy was stability.
Jiang continued during funds to
a) develop the Special Economic Zone.
b) develop coastal regions
In 1996, Jiang began a series of reforms
These were reforms in the state controlled media.
They were aimed at promoting the "core of leadership" under himself.
At the same time he defeated some of his political opponents.
The personality enhancements in the media were largely frowned upon during the Deng era.
He had not been seen since the Mao era in the late 1970s
The media had Jiang-related events on the front pages.
Sometimes these events became the top story.
This remained until HU Jintao's media administrative changes in 2006.
Jiang appeared casual in front of the Western media.
He would often use foreign languages in front of the camera, albeit not always fluent.

Expulsion of Falun Gong

In June 1999, Jian established an extralegal department.
This was the 6-10 office.
It was created to expel Falun Gong from mainland China.
On July 20th security forces abducted and detained thousands of Falun Gong organizers they identified as leaders.
The persecution that followed was characterized as a nationwide campaign of propaganda.
It was also viewed as as the large scaled arbitrary imprisonment and coercive reeducation of Falun Gong organizers.
Sometimes it resulted in death.

Foreign Policy

Jiang went on a state visit to the United States in 1997.
He attracted various crowds.
Some supported the Tibetan Independence Movement.
Some supported the Chinese Democracy Movement.
He also made a speech at Harvard University
Part of it was in passable English.
But he could not avoid unpleasant questions.
These were questions on democracy & freedom.

Jiang & Clinton

The meeting with US President Bill Clinton was relaxed.
Both sought common ground.
Both largely ignored areas of disagreement.
Clinton would visit China in June 1998.
He vowed that China and the United States were partners.
They were not to be seen as adversaries
But American-led NATO bombed the Chinese Embassy.
This was in Belgrade in 1999.
Jiang would put up a harsh stance for show at home.
It was only a symbolic gesture of protest.
There was no solid action that was undertaken.
Jiang's foreign policy was mostly passive.
It was generally non-confrontational.
Jiang strengthened China's economic stature abroad.
He kept trying to establish cordial relations.
This was with countries whose trade is largely confined to the American economic sphere.
Despite this, there were at least three serious flare-ups.
These were between China and the United States.
This took place during Jiang's tenure:
a) the Third Taiwas Strait Crisis in 1996.
b) the above mentioned NATO bombing of Serbia
c) the Hianan Island incident in April 2001.

Entrenching the Three Represents.

Jiang had his theory of Three Represents written into the Party's constitution at the CCP congress in 2002.
This was alongside
a) Marxism-Leninism
b) Mao Zedong Thought
c) Deng Xiaoping Theory
Critics think this is a piece added to Jiang's cult of personality.
Others have seen practical applications of the theory as a guiding ideology in the future direction of the CPC.
The international media speculated that he was to step down from all positions.
Rival Li Ruihuan's resignation in 2002 prompted analysts to rethink the man.
Many though this to be Jiang's effort at extending his vision to Marxist-Leninists principles.
In this way it would elevate himself alongside previous Chinese Marxist philosophers Mao & Deng.
In 2002, Jiang stepped down from
a) the powerful Politburo Standing Committee.
&
b) as general Secretary.
This was to make way for a "fourth generation" of leadership headed by Hu Jintao.
This was the beginning of a transition of power that would last several years.
Hu assumed Jiang's title as Party head.
Thus he became the new General Secretary of the CCP.

Jiang held the Chairmanship of the powerful Central Military Commission
But most members off the Commission were professional military men.
The Liberation Army Daily seemed to criticized Jiang's attempt to exercise dual leadership with Hu on the model of Deng Xiaoping.
Hu succeeded Jiang as Party leader in November 2002.
Evidence of Jiang's continuing influence on public policy abruptly disappeared from the official media.
Jiang was conspicuously silent during the SARS crisis.
This was especially so when compared to
a) the very public profile of Hu.
b) the newly anointed Premier, Wen Jiabao.
The institutional arrangements created by the 16th Congress have left Jiang in a position where he cannot exercise much influence.
the Standing Committee does not necessarily have command authority over the civilian bureaucracy.
On Sept. 19, 2004, Jiang relinquished his post.
This was as chairman of the party's Central Military Commission
That was his last post in the party.
Six months later he resigned his last significant post.
this was as chairman of the Central Military Commission of the state.
It looked like forces inside the party were pressing Jiang to step aside.
Jiang's term was supposed to have lasted until 2007.
Hu also succeeded Jiang as the CMC chairman.
General Xu Caihou was appointed to succeed Hu as vice chairman.
This seemed to look like a defeat for Jiang.
This power transition formally marked the end of Jiang's era in China, which roughly lasted from 1993 to 2004.

Official Appearances After Retirement

Jiang continued to make official appearances after giving up his last title in 2004.
In China's strictly defined protocol sequence, Jiang's name always appeared immediately after Hu Jintao's and in front of the remaining sitting members of the Politburo Standing Committee
In 2007, Jiang was seen with Hu Jintao on stage at a ceremony celebrating the 80th anniversary of the founding of the People's Liberation Army.
He toured the Military Museum of the Chinese People's Revolution with Li Peng, Zhu Ronji
On the 8th of August 2008, Jiang appeared at the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics.
He also stood beside Hu Jintao during the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China mass parade in October 2009.
Beginning in July 2011, false reports of Jiang's death began circulating on the news media Outside of mainland China and on the Internet.
Jiang may have been ill and receiving treatments.
But the rumours were denied by official sources.
On Oct. 9th, Jiang made his first public appearance - this was in Beijing.
It was to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Xinhai Revolution.

Asia 210 - Modern China

Monday, November 29, 2021

THe Era of Jiang Zemin

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