CONFIDENTIAL
FM PEKING
TO
IMMEDIATE FCO
TELNO 1831
206
CONFIDENTIAL
нив ого!!
054333 HIAN 2660
2 6 OCT 1987
OF 260917Z OCTOBER 1987
INFO PRIORITY HONG KONG, TOKYO, WASHINGTON, MOSCOW, UK DEL NATO
CHINA: PARTY CONGRESS: FIRST DAY
SUMMARY
1. THE POLICY DECISIONS ANNOUNCED IN ACTING GENERAL-SECRETARY ZHAO ZIYANG'S REPORT TO THE CHINESE PARTY CONGRESS ON 25 OCTOBER CAN BE COUNTED A QUALIFIED SUCCESS FOR HIM AND HIS SUPPORTERS. IMPORTANT MOVEMENT HAS BEEN ACHIEVED ON IDEOLOGICAL QUESTIONS AND SOME USEFUL SPECIFIC COMMITMENTS HAVE BEEN MADE ON POLITICAL REFORM. THIS IS MORE THAN MIGHT HAVE BEEN EXPECTED GIVEN THE VICISSITUDES OF CHINESE POLITICS OVER THE LAST YEAR. BUT IT IS EQUALLY CLEAR THAT THIS DOCUMENT IS THE PRODUCT OF HARD-FOUGHT COMPROMISE AND THAT IMPLEMENTING THE PROGRAMME WILL THROW UP MANY FURTHER PRACTICAL AND POLITICAL CONTRADICTIONS. NONETHELESS, THE DOCUMENT SERVES AS A USEFUL FOUNDATION FOR FURTHER REFORM. IT WILL PUT GROUND UNDER THE FEET OF THE REFORMERS IN FUTURE POLICY DEBATES AFTER DENG XIAOPING
HIMSELF HAS GONE.
DETAIL
2.
THE THIRTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE CHINESE COMMUNIST PARTY OPENED ON 25 OCTOBER. IT WAS ATTENDED BY DENG XIAOPING AND ALL THE OTHER CURRENT MEMBERS OF THE SENIOR PARTY LEADERSHIP. DENG MADE SOME VERY BRIEF OPENING REMARKS AND THE REMAINDER OF THE SESSION WAS TAKEN UP BY ACTING GENERAL SECRETARY ZHAO ZIYANG'S TWO-AND-A-HALF-HOUR-LONG WORK REPORT (FOR SUMMARY SEE MIFT). CHEN YUN AND DENG YINECHAO LEFT THE PLATFORM BEFORE ZHAO HAD FINISHED SPEAKING ACCORDING TO A DELEGATE, BOTH LOOKED VERY FRAIL. FOR THE FIRST TIME AT A MODERN CONGRESS. THERE WAS NO PORTRAIT OF MAO.
3. ZHAO'S REPORT CONTAINS WHAT WILL BE THE MAIN POLICY STATEMENT TO EMERGE FROM THE CONGRESS. IT IS KNOWN TO HAVE GONE THROUGH A LENGTHY DRAFTING PROCESS AND BEARS ALL THE MARKS OF A CONSENSUS DOCUMENT PREPARED IN COMMITTEE. NONETHELESS, AS PRE-FIGURED IN MY TELNO 1750, IT DOES ENDORSE THE GENERAL ORIENTATION OF PRESENT POLICY IN A POSITIVE FASHION AND PROVIDES A FIRM BASIS FOR FUTURE REFORM. GIVEN THE UPS AND DOWNS OF CHINESE POLITICS OVER THE LAST YEAR THE MORE LIBERAL WING OF THE PARTY REPRESENTED BY ZHAO ZIYANG CAN BE QUITE PLEASED WITH WHAT THEY HAVE ACHIEVED.
1
PAGE
CONFIDENTIAL