More Legitimacy for One-Party Rule? The CCP's Ideological Adjustments and Intra-Party Reforms

Abstract

For the last two years, Chinese President Hu Jintao has appealed for the proper study of Marxism, and in the years to come Premier Wen Jiabao wants to build "a new socialist landscape." The language used in the new ideological guidelines bears a strong resemblance to the rhetoric of the 1980s and may therefore seem rather outdated to some China observers. The same is true when studying the widely propagated "Three Represents" party reform concept initiated by Jiang Zemin or the subsequent ideological parole of "building a harmonious society" used by Hu Jintao. Nevertheless, these new "approaches" and "theories" are the outcome of lengthy discussions on ideological and intra-party reform conducted over the last ten years in order to secure one-party rule. This article discusses the far-reaching implications of ideological reform, reconstructs the process of intra-party reform and illuminates the political background connected with the endeavour of establishing new legitimacy for the CCP.