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its principal proponent and symbol.
There was a general
air of uncertainty and of reluctance to take or even to
face up to major decisions.
3.
The Congress did little to dispel this. In his
rather lacklustre review of domestic and international
policy, Premier Li Peng reiterated the more cautious policies for dealing with China's economic ills, which he
apparently favours. Inflation was identified as the main
problem and the Chinese people were warned of a period of
two or three years austerity while the economy is brought
under control. No new approach was outlined and further significant reform of the economic system was put off.
There was little sign at the Congress of the underlying
debate within the leadership on the direction and speed
of economic reform. Rather agreement was reached on
short-term, essentially pragmatic measures to deal with
the current problems.
4.
Nor was there much progress on political reform. Over the last few years the National People's Congress has been becoming a more assertive body and less of a
simple rubber stamp to Party policy. But no new ground was broken this time, and discussion was less lively than
last year.
Delegates did, however, voice some telling criticisms of government performance, reflecting popular
concerns. These did not include the dissident issue
(despite earlier expectations and the efforts of some
groups and individuals from Hong Kong). In his report Li Peng accepted collective responsibility on behalf of the
leadership for past errors. While some of what he said
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