TNAG-2504-FCO40-3643-National-People-s-Congress-and-Chinese-People-s-Political-Co-1992 — Page 15

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035703

MDAN 5239

BE THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE GOVERNMENT AND THIS ACTION BY THE POLITBURO MAY BE AN IMPLICIT CRITICISM OF THE STATE COUNCIL, WHICH COULD NOT BE TRUSTED WITH PUSHING ON WITH REFORMS. ON THE FOLLOWING DAY, ALSO ACCORDING TO 'CHINA DAILY, VICE-PREMIER, ZHU RONGJI INFERRED THAT THE CENTRAL GOVERNMENT HAD HELD BACK THE PROGRESS OF REFORM IN SHANGHAI. CON DEVELOPMENT OF STOCKMARKETS, IN CONTRAST TO LI PENG'S EMPHASIS ON EXPERIMENTATION, ZHU SAID THAT SHANGHAI SHOULD LEARN FROM SHENZHEN: IN THE PAST SHANGHAI HAD MARKED TIME WHILE WAITING FOR EXPLICIT INSTRUCTIONS FROM PEKING).

ZHU SAID HE WOULD TRY TO PERSUADE GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENTS TO GIVE ENTERPRISES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS MORE DECISION MAKING POWER. (COMMENT: THIS ALSO CONVEYS THE IMPRESSION THAT UNUSUAL METHODS HAVE TO BE ADOPTED IN ORDER TO CIRCUMVENT AN OBSTRUCTIVE CENTRAL GOVERNMENT.)

5.

JIANG'S AND ZHU'S REMARKS NOTED ABOVE WERE REPORTED BY 'CHINA DAILY' BUT THE CHINESE-LANGUAGE PRESS ACCOUNTS OF MEETINGS AT WHICH THE REMARKS WERE MADE OMITTED TO MENTION THEM. 'PEOPLE'S DAILY' ALSO OMITTED THE CRITICISM OF 'LEFTISM' IN REPORTING THE SPEECH MADE BY YANG BAIBING (PARA 3 ABOVE) TO A MEETING OF PLA DEPUTIES. YANG'S CRITICISM OF 'LEFTISM' WAS REPORTED IN 'LIBERATION ARMY DAILY NOR HAS 'PEOPLE'S DAILY' YET CARRIED THE REPORT OF DENG XIAOPING'S VISIT TO GUANGDONG WHICH SOME OTHER NATIONAL DAILIES CARRIED ON 30 MARCH (SEE BELOW). THIS PATTERN OF REPORTING TENDS TO SUPPORT CLAIMS IN THE HONG KONG PRESS THAT HARDLINERS AT THE 'PEOPLE'S DAILY' ARE STILL RESISTING FULL PROPAGATION OF DENG'S POLICIES.

6.

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30 MARCH 'GUANGMING DAILY' AND 'PEKING DAILY' (BOTH OF WHICH WERE, UNTIL RECENTLY, CONSERVATIVE FLAGSHIPS) REPUBLISHED A LENGTHY ACCOUNT FROM 'SHENZHEN SEZ DAILY' OF 26 MARCH OF DENG'S 19-23 JANUARY VISIT TO GUANGDONG. THE ACCOUNT GIVES AN ENTHUSIASTIC BLOW-BY-BLOW RECORD OF DENG'S ACTIVITIES AND HIS BY NOW FAMILIAR STATEMENTS. THESE REPUBLISHED ACCOUNTS ARE THE FIRST TIME REPORTS OF THE VISIT HAVE APPEARED IN THE NATIONAL PRESS. 25 MARCH 'ECONOMIC DAILY' PUBLISHED A PHOTOGRAPH OF DENG TAKEN IN SHANGHAI OVER CHINESE NEW YEAR. 29 MARCH WORKERS' DAILY CARRIED A SYMBOLICALLY SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNT OF THE OCCASION IN 1974 WHEN DENG XIAOPING REAPPEARED AFTER DISGRACE, IN THE COMPANY OF MAO ZEDONG AND ZHOU ENLAI. THE ACCOUNT, GIVEN BY THE OFFICIAL PHOTOGRAPHER WHO WAS PRESENT, WAS IN A FEATURE ON ZHOU ENLAI. CONTRAST BETWEEN PREMIER ZHOU AND LI PENG IN THE ESTEEM OF ORDINARY PEOPLE REMAINS STRONG.

THE

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