(Thumbnail image from Xinhua)
China celebrated 60 years of the Communist Party’s rule last week. There was a massive parade of 200,000 soldiers and performers in the center of Beijing. Media sources look at the Asian giant’s status quo to see what has changed since Mao’s reign – and what has not.
We give you perspectives from China Daily, France24, The Guardian, CNN, The Daily Mirror, The Wall Street Journal and BBC.
First, a China Daily reporter says China has made good progress and has much to celebrate.
“There are a thousand reasons for the Chinese to be proud, and to celebrate, on the 60th anniversary of the People’s Republic…The once semi-feudal, semi-colonial country, which was on the brink of bankruptcy 60 years ago, is now the world's hope for leading the route to recovery from the latest recession.”
A France24 reporter says China has changed and is now led by economic forces, not political doctrine.
“The China of 2009 is a very different country to the one that Mao shaped during his leadership. Private enterprise guides the nation now, rather than revolutionary dogma.”
But a reporter from The Guardian says both political and economic forces move in tandem.
“Six decades after the Communist Party seized power in China, the message was clear: It is still in charge. A procession bore giant portraits of its leaders, and promoted Mao Zedong thought. State broadcasters said it had been proved correct, though these days the rule of the party marches in step with capitalism.”An analyst on CNN says it is precisely the mix of different systems that makes China what it is today.
“To be adaptable and flexible is a path to survival. So this has been a very adaptable, I would argue, and eclectic party, borrowing bits and pieces from different political systems all around the world.”
However, not all media outlets are optimistic. The Daily Mirror writer points out one issue that hasn’t changed.
“With their growing economy, increasing power and staggering Olympics China has much to celebrate… but not the freedom of its people.”
A contributor for The Wall Street Journal says although China has not changed much politically, there is still cause for optimism as the Chinese people have moved on socially.
“By now, this process of social change has acquired its own momentum and the party can no longer stop it…The country's ruling organization can put on large-scale displays of goose-stepping soldiers, but it cannot keep up with the Chinese people, who are, in a very real sense, the ones on the march."
Finally, a BBC reporter warns of the dangers of change.
“Changing over from controlling just about everything everybody does or says, to allowing them to do and say what they want, is fraught with danger. Get that wrong and the whole country could fall apart. Nowadays, China’s become a non-communist country run by the Communist Party.”
Media sources say China has changed in some ways, yet has retained some of its old systems. We want to know what you think.
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