China's Hu rules out democratic reform as party turns 90

Jul 1, 2011, 9:46 GMT

Beijing - Chinese President and Communist Party leader Hu Jintao marked the party's 90th anniversary Friday with a speech ruling out any moves towards multiparty democracy and urging continued economic development, stability and 'harmony.'

China would continue to develop 'socialist democracy ... under the leadership of the Communist Party,' Hu told several thousand leading party members at Beijing's Great Hall of the People.

'It is still in the primary stage of socialism and will remain so for a long time to come,' he said.

Hu said the ruling party would carry out its 'central task of economic development' to build on the achievements of 30 years of economic reforms.

The party would strengthen the fight against corruption as a 'major political task' that was vital to its own survival, he said.

'If not effectively curbed, corruption will cost the party the trust and support of the people,' Hu said.

Addressing 'comrades and friends,' he said the party must 'take more forceful measures to improve the institutions for punishing and preventing corruption.'

Hu's 80-minute speech was broadcast live by China Central Television, national radio and the main websites of state media.

He said the party would uphold the Four Cardinal Principles associated with former leader Deng Xiaoping, who said that the most important of the four principles was to 'uphold leadership by the party and to keep to the socialist road.'

Rights groups said calls since February for peaceful protests to promote democratic reform in China had been met with the worst repression of activists since the party ordered troops to disperse democracy protesters in 1989.

Hu said the party aimed to 'promote social development to uphold the fundamental interests of the overwhelming majority of the people and the enduring political stability of the country.'

'Development is critically important, and upholding stability is also a critically important task,' he said. 'Without stability, nothing could be done, and even the achievements already made could be lost.'

'China is going through social changes unparalleled in scope,' Hu said. 'While releasing tremendous dynamism for China's development and progress, these changes have inevitably given rise to conflicts and problems.'

He expounded plans to expand 'socialist democracy' through more open governance and minor competition in elections to party posts.

In an earlier speech, he said China's 'socialist modernization' period of rapid economic development without multiparty democracy would continue for 'several, a dozen or even dozens of generations.'

Hu on Friday promoted his recent ideology of 'scientific development' as well as Marxism-Leninism and the ideologies of his predecessors, including Mao Zedong and Deng.

Hu's 'scientific concept of development' requires China to move towards more sustainable growth and create a 'harmonious society' by reducing economic inequalities.

The male-dominated party's 80 million members and 75 million Communist Youth League members together make up more than 10 per cent of China's 1.3 billion people.

Once focussed on workers and farmers, the party amended its constitution in 2002 to allow entrepreneurs and other 'new forces' to join.

In the run-up to the 90th anniversary, many party branches rallied the public to join performances of political songs, but Friday was not a public holiday, and no major parades were organized to mark the anniversary.

State media said some 30,000 people attended Friday's daily raising of the national flag at dawn in Beijing's Tiananmen Square.