The Parliamentary Centre in Asia

China Planning Constitutional Changes

China Planning Constitutional Change Drawing on Jiang's Ideology, Official Media Says
BEIJING Aug. 12

Communist leaders plan to amend China's constitution to formally enshrine the ideology of Jiang Zemin, the recently retired leader who invited capitalists to join the Communist Party, official media said Tuesday.

The change would give Jiang a shot at his longtime goal sealing his place in history alongside his legendary predecessors. Jiang's policies might find a place in the constitution along with those of Mao Zedong, the founder of communist China, and Deng Xiaoping, who launched the country's economic reforms.

The news reports gave no details of the possible changes. But foreign analysts say they include the communist era's first guarantee of property rights for entrepreneurs who have driven China's two-decade-old economic boom.

" Certain amendments are still needed to promote economic and social development," said the party newspaper People's Daily. It said the changes were meant to cope with accelerating globalization and advances in science and technology.

The amendments are to be debated in October at a meeting of the party's 356-member Central Committee, state media said.

Jiang, who turns 77 this month, stepped down in November after 13 years as party leader but retains influence as head of the commission that runs China's military.

Having his theory written into the constitution could help him extend his influence as Hu Jintao, his successor as president and party leader, tries to establish his own power.

Jiang's theory, the awkwardly named "Three Represents," calls for the 67 million-member party to embrace capitalists, updating its traditional role as a "vanguard of the working class."

The People's Daily said Deng's ideology and Jiang's "important thought" should be used as "guidelines for both the reform of the economic system and the revision of the Constitution."

Jiang's theory already is party policy. It was written into the party charter last November at a congress where he handed over his post as general secretary to Hu as part of a shift in power to a younger generation of leaders.

But the notion of mentioning Jiang or his ideology by name in the nation's constitution faces resistance from party members and Chinese legal scholars, said Joseph Cheng, a political scientist at the City University of Hong Kong.

Party members oppose exalting Jiang so prominently in an era of consensus-oriented group leadership, while legal scholars argue that it would add unnecessary clutter, Cheng said.

" Just upholding property rights and the rights of entrepreneurs would certify recognition of Jiang Zemin's contributions," he said.

Despite sweeping economic and social changes, the political status of China's entrepreneurs is still ambiguous.

It wasn't until 1999 that the constitution was amended to declare private business an "important component" of the economy, not just a "complement" to state industry.