New York Times: China's Leadership Pushes for Unity

March 9, 2001

BEIJING, March 8 Last month, President Jiang Zemin summoned more than 2,000 top [party's name omitted] officials to Beijing for an extraordinary, closed-door meeting.

At a crucial point in his political life, Mr. Jiang wanted to make sure that the ruling party remained firmly unified on two divisive issues: the campaign to crush the Falun Gong spiritual movement and the correctness of the party's decision to use troops against the 1989 pro-democracy protesters in Tiananmen Square.

Such a large scale "central work conference" had not been held since 1988, political experts said. The one convened in February reflects the leadership's deep unease about party unity and domestic stability, even as their country emerges as a world power and as Mr. Jiang, who is expected to step down as president and party chief in the next two years, worries about a smooth transition and his own legacy.

Seeking to counter rumors of high-level discord, the seven members of the Standing Committee of the party's Politburo, the men who effectively rule the country, stood up one by one to endorse the anti-Falun Gong campaign as an urgent necessity and to justify the 1989 crackdown, according to two officials who attended separate, detailed briefings on the meeting as part of the leadership's effort to spread the message through party ranks.

The two said they spoke because they had misgivings about the leadership's strategy. "It is very rare to hold this kind of meeting now, and in Beijing," said one of the officials, noting that major issues of party policy and unity are normally dealt with during the leaders' summer retreat at the seaside resort of Beidaihe. "So you know this has to be very, very important to them."

At last month's conference, Mr. Jiang complained that some local leaders had been unenthusiastic about the drive to stamp out Falun Gong, allowing practitioners to go to Beijing where they have held almost daily silent protests in Tiananmen Square. Before the movement was banned as an "[Chinese government's slanderous word]" last year, Falun Gong had attracted millions of ordinary Chinese with its meditative exercises said to bring about good health and spiritual salvation.

Under guidance from a new office in Beijing, each province has set up a team to coordinate the anti-Falun Gong battle using a two-pronged strategy: prison or "re-education" for leaders and recalcitrant members; intense propaganda demonizing the group for everyone else.

But not everyone has been in step: At least one group of police officers, from the northeastern city of Shenyang, has written to the party's main newspaper, the People's Daily, to complain that the government's strategy of harsh repression is not working, a journalist with a state newspaper said. The letter was not printed.

Meanwhile, demonstrations by angry workers and farmers over issues like unpaid pensions, taxes and corruption have become commonplace. Even party stalwarts express amazement at the scale of the official corruption that is emerging from investigations around the country.

Adding to their sense of apprehension, Mr. Jiang and the rest of the leaders are taking what they see as major but necessary political risks in opening the economy further to the pressures of global competition. A temporary surge in unemployment and other dislocations are expected as China joins the World Trade Organization.

The officials said the February meeting was in part an attempt to make sure that Mr. Jiang's policies would be continued by his successors and to demonstrate to all officials that it would be risky to step out of line.

The unusual gathering in February of a central work conference was featured at the time in the state-run press as an important meeting, but the specific topics were not disclosed beyond vague calls for unity and support for Mr. Jiang's opaque refinements of ideology. It was attended by all senior central officials, top party leaders from each province and leaders of the military, the judiciary and government ministries.

After the meeting, senior officials fanned out to brief party organizations and government agencies about the message.

This week, thousands of Chinese officials are gathered in Beijing for the annual 10-day session of the National People's Congress, which has been devoted mainly to announcing the government's economic plans. Bold political initiatives appear to be on hold as the leaders scramble behind closed doors to influence the scheduled change in the country's top three positions over the coming two years.

The struggle to eradicate Falun Gong and discredit its leader in exile , was set off in 1999 after 10,000 followers held outside the leadership compound in Beijing, calling for official recognition. It has been a messy and unpleasant campaign involving intense, crude propaganda and the detention of tens of thousands of otherwise law-abiding citizens, leaving many Chinese feeling uneasy.

Mr. Jiang and other leaders appear worried that if the struggle against Falun Gong drags on too long it could, in fact, cause divisions at the top.

Mr. Jiang is also worried about his historical legacy and if he steps down without resolving the bitter conflict, his reputation may suffer.