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Red China Bites the Dust
China's parliament has agreed to landmark changes to the constitution that will protect private property for the first time since the 1949 revolution, reports BBC Online (03/15).
Sunday's endorsement came on the final day of the National People's Congress annual meeting in Beijing. The BBC's Beijing correspondent says with this vote, China is abandoning one of the key pillars of communism. The vote to amend the 1982 constitution was passed with 2,863 in favor to 10 against, with 17 abstentions. Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said that the "changes to the constitution are of great significance to the development of China." But he also warned that China's economy is at a critical juncture, and that the country's system of governance has to keep in step with the transformation to a capitalistic economy. "Without success in political restructuring, economic reforms in China cannot eventually succeed," he said at a press conference at the close of the annual session. China's parliament also voted to enshrine human rights in the constitution, for the first time. The mention of human rights reads: "The state respects and preserves human rights." Although it is the constitution's first reference to the issue, analysts say such a brief mention is ambiguous and makes no mention of political freedom.
[Courtesy of the World Bank. Who else?]
Sunday's endorsement came on the final day of the National People's Congress annual meeting in Beijing. The BBC's Beijing correspondent says with this vote, China is abandoning one of the key pillars of communism. The vote to amend the 1982 constitution was passed with 2,863 in favor to 10 against, with 17 abstentions. Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said that the "changes to the constitution are of great significance to the development of China." But he also warned that China's economy is at a critical juncture, and that the country's system of governance has to keep in step with the transformation to a capitalistic economy. "Without success in political restructuring, economic reforms in China cannot eventually succeed," he said at a press conference at the close of the annual session. China's parliament also voted to enshrine human rights in the constitution, for the first time. The mention of human rights reads: "The state respects and preserves human rights." Although it is the constitution's first reference to the issue, analysts say such a brief mention is ambiguous and makes no mention of political freedom.
[Courtesy of the World Bank. Who else?]