Civil society rising in China, says state-run daily

Beijing, Nov 10 (IANS) Civil society is rising in China and decision-makers “must keep up”, said a state-run Chinese daily Saturday, the third day of the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China.

An article in the Global Times said that international attention is focused on one of the biggest political events in history.

“Many people hold many different and interesting perspectives, due to their own values and historical experiences.

“However, the CPC, with its own experiences, mission and its close relationship with Chinese society, still appears unfamiliar to traditional political science,” it said.

It stressed that the CPC is “not an ordinary political party as defined by Western political thinking”.

The CPC has 82.6 million members, which is bigger than the total population of most European countries.

“The CPC is not a force which roars into activity every few years to mobilise for an election. It is a leading light which permeates into grassroots society and is highly integrated with the national and social management systems,” said the daily.

CPC’s “great ability to mobilise society has been a realistic demand of national rejuvenation”.

It was quick to add that “alternating between political parties is fundamentally impossible in China. In the West, party alternation is purely the swapping of political power, whereas in China, this would mean a colossal shake-up for the entire society”.

The daily went on to say that the country has witnessed a painful and tortuous process through which it built its modern order.

Admitting that CPC’s “exploratory uniting of this country” has been far from perfect, it said: “But China has survived all the way and become the second largest economy in the world. Its experiences can be seen as a lesson of social governance”.

The daily added: “It is a difficulty worldwide to balance interests at various social levels and effectively build everyday channels for the grass roots to participate in politics. Civil society is rising in China, and decision-makers must keep up.”

IANS 2012-11-10 13:58:07