Source

February 15, 2012 


The southwestern city of Chongqing has been drawing admiration as well as controversy in recent years for its characteristic development involving a reduction of the wealth gap, integration of the rural and urban population, a "red culture" revival, and a high-handed crackdown on organized crime.

A new round of criticism over the so-called Chongqing model resurfaced over the past few days after it was announced by the local government that Wang Lijun, Chongqing's deputy mayor and former police chief who became a hero of the gang-busting campaign in the past few years, was said to be on a "vacation-style" leave of absence and later said to be under investigation after a sudden visit to the US consulate in Chengdu.

Some are saying this incident shows that the Chongqing model is doomed to fail because of the absence of a systemic change under the rule of law. Others argue that the latest surge of naysayers are only self-proclaimed liberal intellectuals who are targeting the "Chongqing model" as they attack whatever they believe to be connected to former leader Mao Zedong's era. 

Chongqing model

Although controversy over the Chongqing model never stops, the level of success it has achieved in terms of economic development and the improvement of local livelihoods tells its own story. Some scholars believe that the municipality's methods are the solution to obstacles China has met during its reformation.

Chongqing has seen annual double-digit economic growth for the past few years, and even shared the top national ranking with Tianjin last year with a growth rate of 16.4 percent.

In 2010, the government spent 300 billion yuan ($47.6 billion) to improve local livelihoods, promising to build 30 million square meters of government-subsidized housing, as well as create millions of jobs by financially supporting small and medium enterprises.

In a pioneering project, Chongqing also successfully integrated over 1 million rural citizens into the city's social security system, covering them with healthcare that in the past was only available for urban dwellers.

It appeared that Chongqing had succeeded in reforms where other Chinese cities had stumbled or even dared not to go, winning the city widespread praise.

"The Chongqing model brings hope to China's economic reform," Hong Kong-based Yazhou Zhoukan magazine wrote in a 2009 article.

The city's successful practices have also drawn the attention of central government leaders, who lauded Chongqing's achievements during televised inspection tours, prompting speculation that such a model might soon be applied nationwide.

In a survey by Oriental Outlook magazine last year, Chongqing was selected as one of the country's 20 cities with the happiest people, and was the choice of over 200,000 people who participated in the survey.

"There have been fewer street robberies, traffic is more organized than ever and police are also more polite," Yu Dandan, a 26-year-old media worker from Chongqing, said about the changes she has experienced in the city in recent years.

New opposition

Many people outside of Chongqing do not agree with this positive perception of the changes.

Zhang Ming, a professor of political science at Renmin University of China, cast his doubts on the Chong-qing model.

"The whole point of the Chongqing model is to instill people with an ideology. Its gang-busting and livelihood improvement projects all have strong movement-like characteristics," Zhang told the Global Times.

"Such measures create internal tension as well as bringing an enormous financial burden that can hardly be sustained," he added.

However, some observers pointed out that the current development of Chongqing is the result of combined policies.

"It's the perfect combination of a strong government and a strong market," said Su Wei, a professor at the Chongqing Party School.

"Many people think Chongqing is violating market economy rules in implementing its livelihood projects, but the truth is quite the opposite. Instead of using money from government revenue, the city has raised public funds by issuing a financing product," Su told the Global Times.

"Both central and local policies have stimulated Chongqing's development in the past and will sustain its growth in the future," Su said.

He added that the resurgence of criticism over Chongqing's development shows that many so-called public intellectuals are just using the Chongqing model as a target to voice their own ideologies. "Many of them don't really know what is going on in the city," he said.

More work ahead

Yang Fan, a professor at the China University of Political Science and Law, has been studying and co-wrote a book about the Chongqing model.

However, Yang expressed caution when asked about the model's future.

"It could have been a great transition," Yang said, "but I guess they were blind-sided by overwhelming success and made some mistakes," he said, pointing to the revival of red culture and the anti-gang campaign.

"The question of whether Chong-qing authorities followed proper legal procedures during the crime crackdown has yet to be asked," Yang said, referring to one of the biggest controversies Chongqing has faced.

Starting in 2009, the city launched a massive yet swift crackdown against syndicate crime, resulting in the arrest of over 3,000 people in less than a year, including the city's former deputy police chief who was eventually sentenced to death.

In a high-profile case, a Beijing lawyer who defended gang members was arrested and sentenced for fabricating evidence, prompting widespread concerns that lawyers were not allowed to voice differing opinions in their practices.

As for the red culture, Yang said it could be misleading as it reminds many people of the Cultural Revolution, which has left the nation with unpleasant memories.

On several occasions, Yang acknowledged the positive influence of Chongqing's development, as well as its downsides.

"Chongqing needs a strong leadership to break the reform barrier," Yang said to Qilu Evening News. "But at a certain point, society needs democracy and law if the achievements made are to be sustained."