Beijing - The passing of a controversial law to protect
private property marks the end of China's debate about the direction
of economic development and the underlying ideology, supporters say.
'The revision of the property law delivers an important political
message that China will stick to the direction of [economic] reform
and opening up,' Yin Tian, a legal expert at Beijing University, told
Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.
The National People's Congress began discussing the draft property
law in 2002 and has since reviewed it an unprecedented seven times,
mainly because of opposition within the ruling Communist Party from
members who believe the law leads the party away from its founding
principles.
'The difficulties before 2005 were basically technical problems,'
Yin said.
'After 2005, the main obstacles to the revision of the property
law came from interruptions by leftists,' he said.
The passage on Friday of the property law, with 97 per cent of the
2,800 delegates voting in favour, was a 'signal of further reform and
opening up,' NPC Standing Committee member Liu Hezhang said.
It suggests that 'China will not start a new round of the
'capitalism or socialism' dispute,' Liu told the official Xinhua News
Agency.
The leftists' objections to the law were popular 'for a certain
time' because they connected the property law with 'growing social
conflicts' and the protection of 'illegal income,' Yin admitted.
'The leftists think [economic] reforms have cost too much and that
weak groups in our society have lost out,' said Yan Yu, a specialist
in enterprise management at Beijing University.
State media gave no coverage of the long debate before and during
this year's annual NPC session.
But leftist party members were allowed to post articles and
comments on websites such as Maoflag, which claims to uphold the
spirit of former leader Mao Zedong.
The intra-party debate over the direction of China's economic and
political development actually dates back to the late 1950s and came
to a head with the 'ultra-left tendency' of the 1966-1976 Cultural
Revolution, according to the Communist Party's official history.
Deng Xiaoping launched the first economic reforms in the early
1980s, backing the changes with slogans such 'to get rich is
glorious' and 'some people must get rich first.'
His successors, retired leader Jiang Zemin and current state
president and party leader Hu Jintao, added their own ideological
twists to Deng's 'socialism with Chinese characteristics' as China's
economy grew rapidly without major political reform.
But growing income gaps and regional imbalances have pushed the
current leadership back towards a 'people-centred' government.
'There are a lot of sharp conflicts in the changing society: How
to protect the interests of farmers, how to protect the interests of
urban residents when their homes are going to be taken down by the
government,' Yin said.
'The property law has tried to provide resolutions to all of these
issues, so the property law is conducive to keeping stability in our
society.'
The law takes effect from October 1, shortly before an important
five-yearly party congress is expected to be held.
According to readings at the NPC, the 247-article law contains
detailed provisions to protect 'lawful incomes, houses, articles for
daily use, means of production and raw materials' as well as
individual inheritances, investments and earnings on investments.
It includes provisions on compensation for the compulsory
purchase of collective-owned rural land and urban homes.
'In the political aspect, the property law will protect the state,
collective and private property equally, and it can protect the
achievements that we made since the start of our reform and opening
up policy,' Yao Libo, a People's Liberation Army delegate to the NPC,
told dpa.
'In the economic aspect, it can provide a relatively stable
environment for development for all forms of ownership and
enterprises - even for individuals,' Yao said.
'The biggest beneficiary of the property law will be the common
people,' Yin said.
The delays and changes to the draft law provided a 'good
opportunity to let people know more about it,'he said.
'I don't think the leftists can still gain popularity since more
people now understand the property law.'
© 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur 
USA
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