Deng Xiaoping
by Jared Madsen
Politics in China has been a controversial issue for some time now, and with the death of Chinese Communist party leader Deng Xiaoping the question of the future of China is on many people�s lips. Corruption has existed in the Chinese government even before the rise of Chairman Mao. Although a basic tenet in the communistic system of government is the equality of everyone, many of the officials in China have lost their morals and now operate in a greedy, self-indulged manner. Even though the Chinese government has been preparing for Dengs death for nearly three years now, it is still hard to say what will become of China politically.
Deng Xiaoping has a broader view of the world than many of his political comrades. He studied in France for six years and had spent some time in Russia, while Chairman Mao never studied abroad. Deng Xiaoping used this to his advantage to offer new insights to the party. Throughout his carrier he was twice purged from power (1967, 1976) and twice rehabilitated (1973, 1977). Throughout his career, Deng tried to open the Chinese market to the outside world while still allowing the Chinese communistic government to have absolute power. After his death, many people are seeing Deng as one of China�s great modern leaders despite many of the atrocities he has committed. The question on many peoples� minds now is "since Deng Xiaoping was the last of the �forefathers� of present day China, what will happen to the government now?"
In my talks with Chinese people many of them feel that there will definitely be a change in the current system of government in China. Many people are fed up with corruption in the Chinese government and the lack of human rights in China. Professor Liu (a previous professor of mine) said, "The lowest level of government is the most corrupt." This directly relates to the average Chinese citizen in dealing with the government. Bribes are not an uncommon occurrence in China, and often times just to avoid trouble one has to give an official something. I remember one time when I went horseback riding with some Chinese friends at a mountain a few hours south of Beijing. On day while we were out riding, we were stopped by the police who inquired about what I was doing there. They wanted to see my passport and where I was staying. When they found out I was staying with my friends in an old farm house and not the expensive hotel across the river our problems seemed to get worse. After hours of discussing the problem we finally gave them a carton of cigarettes and they said they would leave me alone if I left the town in twenty-four hours. This was one of my first personal experiences with corruption in the Chinese government. It made me angry, but what made it worse was there was nothing that could be done about it, this is the way the government is run in China.
The corruption in the government does not just stop at something as simple as harassing a foreigner, it exists in everyday life as well. I cannot count the number of times I have seen officials being driven around in their new shinny Mercedes or being treated to a large expensive dinner at a fancy restaurant. These occurrences are not rare and what makes it even worse is that it is next to impossible to be stopped. In the Chinese system of government the officials are not elected, but appointed. The people have no say who rules them, and it has gotten to the point where the corrupt are allowing the corrupt to advance in ranks, while the people true to the citizens are left behind.
In my opinion there will be a drastic change in the Chinese government in the next few years. I am not sure how it will happen, but I do think if there is a violent revolution it will be short lived. I see people wanting to cause changes, but doing so in a peaceful, civilized manor. The death of Deng Xiaoping is just a wake up call that it is time to do away with the old and bring in the new.
 
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