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MEMORANDUM
CONFIDENTIAL
REFORM IN CHINA
1. It is nearly eight years since the Third Plenum of Eleventh Central Committee marked Deng Xiaoping's political
triumph over the heirs of Mao Zedong and the initiation of his programme to modernise and reform China.
In this
memorandum, I shall outline what has taken place, identify
some of the main outstanding problems and offer some
speculation on its prospects.
Why Reform?
2. The aims of reform are simple. Like many other Chinese,
Mao Zedong included, Deng Xiaoping wishes to see China
achieve what he regards as its rightful place in the community
of nations. This means a modernised China, dependent on or beholden to no outside power. Of the possible ways to achieve
this goal, the Maoist path had proved a dismal failure.
"New
socialist man" was as far as
as far as ever from appearing and the
economy was in a mess. The population, cowed by years of vicious political struggle which had reached into every corner
of society, had little interest in work and no incentive to
try harder. Even the more humane version of Maoism adopted by
Hua Guofeng had come badly unstuck. His "little leap forward" towards the "Four Modernisations" had left the economy on the brink of disaster. Some radical rethink was necessary and in
Deng Xiaoping the Chinese were lucky enough to find a leader
with the vision and resolution to make a distinct break with
the past.
CONFIDENTIAL
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