m**c
发帖数: 7349 | 1 This year 900m voters in China are being cajoled into voting in elections of
the same type that (briefly) aroused such enthusiasm under Deng.
By the end of the year they will have chosen 2.5m representatives to sit in
local “people’s congresses”. These form the lowest rung of the country’s
legislative ladder, and are the only ones that are filled through direct
elections. Membership of higher-level congresses is decided by lower-level
ones.
On November 15th it will be the turn of the capital, Beijing, to go through
the motions. How different the mood will be from those heady days 36 years
ago | m**c
发帖数: 7349 | 2 People’s congresses at all levels remain, as they were then, rubber stamps.
Since 1980, however, the party has flirted on and off with the idea of
tolerating more competition (normally, the only candidates are those chosen
in secret by party officials). Those feisty students were quickly silenced,
but in subsequent elections there were usually a few independent candidates
who tried to get on the ballot; a handful got elected. A high point was in
2003 when more than 100 independents campaigned. Some official media
reported on this approvingly. With the rapid growth of the middle class,
democratic awareness appeared to be stirring. But the party was nervous. In
elections in 2006 and 2011 it cracked down on such attempts. This year’s
are the first of their kind since Mr Xi took over as China’s leader four
years ago. The authorities are on their guard. |
|
