Jiang cracks down on 'anti-party' leftist journals

Jiang Zemin wants private entrepreneurs to join the communist party

By Willy Lam
CNN Senior China Analyst

(CNN) -- Chinese President Jiang Zemin has dealt a blow to the Communist party's leftist faction by cracking the whip on two of their theoretical journals.

Staff at the monthly, Zhenli de Zhuiqiu ("Search of Truth") said they had received the order to suspend publication from their superior unit, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS).

Jiang has also put severe restrictions on another leftist journal Zhongliu ("Mainstream"), which is loosely affiliated with the Beijing-based Guangming Daily.

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The president is understood to have asked the Daily to assume tighter control over Zhongliu by ensuring that there are no "anti-party" articles in future issues.

Similar restrictions have also been put on other leftist publications including Contemporary Thoughts.

Zhenli de Zhuiqiu and Zhongliu have incurred Jiang's ire by attacking his economic and political reforms, particularly the president's recent decision to allow private entrepreneurs to join the party.

While affiliated with CASS and Guangming Daily, they were directly controlled by the Communist party's leftist, or Maoist faction led by conservative elders such as Deng Liqun and Song Ping.

The editor of Zhenli de Zhuiqiu, Yu Quanyou, was among 17 leftists who wrote an open letter last month saying Jiang had violated party regulations by personally deciding to open the party's door to private businessmen.

Personality cult

The letter, which was widely circulated in China and abroad, also accused Jiang of building a personality cult around himself.

It added that by embracing the businessmen, Jiang had forsaken the party's traditional supporters, the workers and peasants.

A Chinese source close to the leftist faction said Jiang had a few years ago already tried once to close down the two journals.

However, party elders, particularly Song, a former member of the Politburo Standing Committee, were instrumental in protecting the leftist mouthpieces.

"This time, Jiang is determined to crack the whip because his personal prestige is at stake," the source said.

It is understood that at the secretive leadership meetings at the Beidaihe resort, Jiang got the support of most party cadres to suppress the leftist faction.

Analysts said Jiang's next step would be to introduce a motion to revise the Communist party constitution to enable private businessmen, usually considered "exploiters," to become party members.

They said, however, that leftists had struck a chord among a large chunk of the party's 65 million members by championing the cause of common workers.

The analysts added it was unlikely Jiang would risk open factional warfare by penalizing prominent leftists such as Deng.