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3. The student demonstrations, Hu Yaobang's resignation
and the campaign to oppose bourgeois liberalisation were
a setback for the reformers.
But they appear to have
weathered the worst of the storm.
Longer-term sources of
disagreement remain, e.g. over the pace and methods of
reform. While the economic reforms are generally
popular, accompanying rising prices and inequalities of
income are not. Some of the older generation, including
Politburo member Chen Yun, have also criticised the
degree to which centralised controls on the economy have
been relaxed. (Chen's prestige derives from having
opposed the idiocies of Mao's Great Leap Forward in the
late 50's when even pragmatists like Zhou Enlai and Deng
were trimmers.) Others believe the reforms and open-door
policy will mean a retreat from socialist values.
Finally, there are middle-ranking cadres who fear for
their jobs because they lack educational and technical
qualifications.
4. There is also a debate over the need for political
reforms to underpin those in the economy. The practical
outcome of this debate is unlikely to lead to the
introduction of Western-style democracy but rather to the
separation of Party and government functions, the
promotion of younger, better qualified cadres and wider
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CONFIDENTIAL