China’s Moral Vacuum

By S.P.SETH

Many Chinese and people around the world were aghast to see video pictures of a two-year old run over twice by a van, and then again by another van, when passers-by simply went about their business ignoring the grisly sight. At the end, a kindly old scavenging woman picked up the little one but to no avail as she died in the hospital.

The questions have been asked and answers demanded about such callousness dramatized in this incident, and others less spectacular but equally disturbing cases of indifference often displayed in modern day China.

One explanation, of course, is that the country’s obsession with growth and greed is making everyone selfish and self-centered. China is growing in a moral vacuum detached from its traditions and humanitarian values. There is no overriding vision of a compassionate society that China might become.

Obviously, for this to happen, the government and the system have to set the example and that, unfortunately is missing. The people of China find in their day-today-living that the system largely exists and serves those who hold power and exercise it in an uncaring, corrupt and venal way. It is becoming a dog-eat-dog society.

There are no role models now, and the corrupt political-business nexus rules the roost.

With political transition next year to a new generation of leadership, there is need for some serious introspection and debate about where the country is going. And this should be thrown open to wider participation.

But the CPC will resist any such obvious course for fear that it might get out of hand, threatening its hold on power. However, to any dispassionate observer, the problems are well known, and were spelled out in China’s Charter 08, signed by many Chinese seeking a change of course for their country.

According to the Charter, “The political reality, which is plain for anyone to see, is that China has many laws but no rule of law; it has a constitution but no constitutional government. The ruling elite continues to cling to its authoritarian power and fights off any move towards political change.”

The result: “The stultifying results are endemic official corruption, an undermining of the rule of law, weak human rights, decay in public ethics, crony capitalism, growing inequality between the wealthy and poor, pillage of the natural environment as well as of human and historical environments, and the exacerbation of a long list of social conflicts, especially in recent times….”

What should be done: “The decline of the current system has reached the point where change is no longer optional.”

But try telling this to the those in power and you will be thrown into dungeon as happened with the prominent dissident Liu Xiaobo, the leading light of Charter 08 movement, now serving 11 years in prison for seeking a new democratic direction for his country.

These dissidents are not self-serving politicians. They genuinely and honestly believe that China is on the wrong track. Indeed, even some of the children of the post-Cultural revolution ruling elite have started muttering such criticism.

The Sydney Morning Herald’s Beijing correspondent, John Garnaut, recently reported such criticism at a gathering at the Hall of Many Sages. One such participant, Ms Ma Xiaoli, with a pedigree of close relationship with other prominent Party families, reportedly said, “The Communist Party is like a surgeon who has cancer. It can’t remove the tumor by itself, it needs help from others, but without help it can’t survive for long.”

Ye Xiangzhen, daughter of Marshal Ye Jiangyang, said: “In today’s China we are facing tremendous challenges that range from the rapid decline of moral standards, to poisonous and genetically modified food, to rampant official corruption.”

Still another one, Lu De, told those gathered that the party and government officials spent a third of all government revenue on their own luxury cars, travel, healthcare, banquets and other perks. He added ironically, “And yet we still call it the Communist Party and socialism.”

Indeed, Ma Xiaoli unburdened herself with what might prove to be prophetic remarks: “In the 80s when the party faced criticism we defended it… In the 90s we sympathized with the critics but today we almost want to join them”

And significantly, according to Garnaut’s report in the Sydney Morning Herald, she went as far as to invoke the example of Taiwan’s Chiang Ching-quo who transformed dictatorship into a prosperous democracy.

Of course, these ‘princelings’ can say these things and get away with it because of their connections at the highest level of the party leadership.

But the point is that if they feel so frustrated with the existing state of affairs, one can’t avoid the conclusion that the Party is outliving its welcome (if they ever had it) with the people.

As Charter 08 says, “The decline of the current system has reached the point where change is no longer optional.”

But the Party seems determined to hang on until overthrown by the people, like they have done with their rulers in the Middle East.

But China’s rulers are further tightening the system to hopefully prolong their rule and the Communist Party’s monopoly on power forever. And to this end, among other repressive measures, they are turning their attention to social media like Sina Weibo, a Chinese version of Twitter.

It is reported that the Centrally Committee of the Communist Party has undertaken to “strengthen the guidance and administration of social internet services and instant communication tools [to ensure] orderly dissemination of information.”

And how will they do it? They propose to identify those who spread “false rumors” and make an example of them. Which means another coercive tool to virtually lock up anyone or everyone disseminating any kind of information that the Party finds unpalatable.

It is said that Sina Weibo has already hired 1000 people for this under pressure from the government.

Whether or not they can build an effective Great Firewall around social media, like they have already done generally with internet, is another thing because those who want to reach out will find creative ways to circumvent it.

But the Party leadership is petrified at the role of the social media in Arab Spring and increasingly in the Occupy Wall Street movement in the US and its versions elsewhere in the world.

It certainly is a terribly nervous Party constantly seeking to build flood levees to control anticipated floods of people’s frustration and anger.