No economic development in China: Guy Sorman

NEW DELHI: The idea of a powerful China submerging the rest of the world is far-fetched, believes French liberalist and author Guy Sorman.

"She is a poor nation, and her economy is barely the size of the French or Italian economy," says Mr Sorman in his provocative book, 'The Year of the Rooster'; as he goes about recording the discontentment of 95 per cent of the Chinese people whom economic development has passed by.

"An infinitesimal number of people have benefited from economic development; for most Chinese, the feeling of deep seated injustice is far greater than the hope for a better tomorrow," observes Mr
Sorman, who spent 2005, the Year of the Rooster, in China listening to the poor peasants who constitute about a billion of the country's population.

In a scathing attack on the Communist Party, he says the first objective of the Party is to stay in power; the second is to make its members grow rich.

"The Chinese abhor the corruption of the Party cadres and do not view them as custodians of a laudable tradition."

On freedom of the press, he says there are two kinds of newspapers in China - the first meant for public consumption and the other for Party propaganda.

"The former, intended for the masses, only publish propaganda.... Communist cadres know that whatever is published is pure fabrication because they have written the stories."

The Propaganda Department, he says, functions with ruthless efficiency, making gullible foreigners accept unquestioningly whatever it chooses to put out: economic statistics which cannot be verified, trumped up elections, blanked out epidemics, and labour harmony.

Drawing a distinction between China and India, he says healthcare and education in China have been sacrificed at the alter of the market economy.

"China's growth is faster than India's, but there is no development there.... In India you can see development, in cities as well as villages," Mr Sorman said after his book was launched by French Ambassador Dominique Girard on Friday.

"The poor in China have no voice, whereas, in India, they vote and the media is ever vigilant. Indian politicians cannot afford to alienate them," says the French author, who had earlier written a stimulating book on India.

According to him, democracy, and nothing else, inclines India towards harmony. And because it is not a democracy, China is driven by the quest for power.

"The Indian peasant has some hope of getting electricity, roads, schools and dispensaries in his village. Villagers in China have no such hopes. The Indians vote, the Chinese don't."

Asked whether the Communist Party of China was upset with the publication of his book, Mr Sorman says they have accepted what is written in it and would want to rectify the mistakes. But as a Marxist, I know they will not change,'' he says with a smile.

According to him, more and more Chinese are getting disenchanted with the growing injustice, corrupt officials, and censorship, permanent surveillance, propaganda and the repression of the system.

Whether China will see the third revolution, Mr Sorman answers the question in the context of the 2008 Olympic Games to be held in Beijing.

"The Communist Party, dependent as it is on foreign investors, is pinning all its hopes on these Games: if they go off successfully, it will be a consecration of the Party. On the other hand, there is the constant fear of some untoward incident (revolt, epidemic, etc), bringing it into disrepute."

Two precedents, he says, underscore the importance of the 2008 Games: the Berlin Games of 1936 consecrated the Nazi ideology, the Seoul Olympics in 1998 opened Korea to the rest of the world, heralding the country's democratisation.

"What will Beijing 2008 be, Berlin or Seoul? The answer depends on the approach of the West, on whether it remains in awe of Chinese might or whether it shares with the Chinese the values of freedom and liberty,'' he says