Major Policy Issues, Reforms, Protest and Economic Achievement

One does not want to dwell on the demonstrations in China in 1989, given the tragedies involved but they do illustrate the socioeconomic tensions which have arisen during China’s economic transformation phase, which have surfaced before (in a less stark form, but still resulting in the downfall of General Secretary Hu Yaobang), and which could surface again. They also point to the difficulties of bringing about evolutionary economic reform in a one-party system, especially if it is dominated by Marxist evolutionary philosophy (Bucknall, 1989, p. 177). The crisis highlighted economic and political areas which require attention in the Chinese setting. The outcome of the demonstrations makes it clear that the present leadership is not prepared to make political concessions from the bottom up on the basis of illegal demonstrations. The leadership has espoused the policy of ‘economic reforms now, political reforms later’, i.e. once economic development has proceeded far enough. Just how much later these political reforms will come and what nature they will take remains an open question.