College of Asia and the Pacific, The Australian National University

Australian National University

China in the Era of Deng Xiaoping: A Decade of Reform. by Michael Ying-Mao Kau; Susan H.
Marsh
Review by: Lawrence R. Sullivan
The Australian Journal of Chinese Affairs, No. 33 (Jan., 1995), pp. 164-166
Published by: The University of Chicago Press on behalf of the College of Asia and the Pacific, The
Australian National University
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164 THE AUSTRALIANJOURNALOF CHINESE AFFAIRS

thefieldsofpublicadministration andmanagement; forexample,theclassical

dilemmabetweendecentralization and supervision(pp.22-5), budgetary
controlversusrevenueleakage(pp.39-46),enterprise autonomy and macro-
management (pp.99-123),implementation through profitcontracts (pp.61-3;
89-91; and 138-41),theseparation of management fromownership (pp.137-
55), andincentives andequalitarianism (pp.197-210).
The authorsare aware of the comparability betweenthe Chinese
economicsystemanditscounterpart in theformer SovietUnion(pp.9and23,
forinstance),butthereis littleintellectual efforttomakesenseoftheChinese
economicsystemthrough somecomparative studieswiththeformer Soviet
UnionandEasternEuropeancountries. Thisis notentirelyexcusablein view
oftheconsiderable number ofseniorChinesescholarstrained andproficient in
RussianandEasternEuropeanlanguages.Moreover, in writingaboutChina's
economicre-structuring littlemention is madeofWestern sourcesandauthors.
The Englishtranslation ofthevolumeis generally fluentandaccurate, in
lightof thesubstantial difficultyto findcomparable expressions in Chinese
and English,and thevastdifferences betweenthecommandeconomyof the
East and themarket economyof theWest.In spiteof considerable efforton
thepartof translators, some less translatable terminologiesand expressions
remain;forinstance, 'floatingwagesystem','enterprise vitality/invigoration',
'job-waitingpersons','the contractsystem'(p.167 notes this is not the
conceptof contract in commonEnglishusage),theprinciple of 'leavingthe
soilwithoutleavingthetown',justtonamea few.
As theeditorsnote,noneoftheseventeen essaysprovidethesourcesfor
theirstatistical
data.Consequently, academicsandgeneralreadersalikearein
no positionto assess,confirm or contradict thefindings of theauthors. Even
supposing that'moststatistics comefromtheStateStatistics Bureau'(p.xviii),
as theeditorsclaim,an authorin Chinaor elsewhereoughtnotevade his or
herresponsibilitytofullyidentify thedatapresented.

PeterNan-shong
Lee
TheChineseUniversity
ofHongKong

Chinain theEra ofDeng Xiaoping:A Decade ofReform,

editedby Michael
Ying-MaoKau andSusanH. Marsh,M. E. Sharpe,Armonk, 1993.xi,506pp.
preface,
contributors, index.US$69.95(hardcover).
introduction,

In November1987 aftertheCCP's Thirteenth PartyCongress,Western

scholarsjoinedseniorpolicymakersfromChina,Japan,theSovietUnionand
theUnitedStatesto attempt of thecomplexand often
an overallassessment
contradictory'decadeof reform'underDeng. This richlydocumentedbook
includestwelveacademicpapersand fourspeechesby policymakersthat
werepresented attheconference,eachwithappendedcritiques.

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 REVIEWS 165

For thereaderinterested in a broadevaluationof Deng's reforms in the

late 1980s, the book is requiredreading.The topicscoveredincludethe
domesticeconomyandforeign trade,thepoliticalandlegalsystems, education
and the role of intellectuals,the military and China's foreignpolicy,plus
changesin ideology.Giventhatthevolumehasbeenpublished afterthe1989
Beijingmassacre,some contributors have revisedtheirpapers,thoughfew
havealteredtheirgenerally upbeatassessment ofDeng'sreforms.
Readingthisbook in 1994,themostvaluablepapersare thosedealing
withtheeconomy, wherechangesbegunin 1978towarda moremarket-based
and foreign-tradeoriented economycontinueto thisday.The twopaperson
thedomesticeconomyby NicholasLardyand RobertDemberger providea
hard-headedbut fair accountof the reforms.While notingsubstantial
improvements in economicgrowthand percapitaincomessince 1978,both
containfrankappraisalsof thecontinuing problems generatedby inefficient
stateindustries, absenceof meaningful pricereform, and the inflationary
pressuresinevitably createdby a centralbankthatis whollysubservient to
politicalleaders. KungchiaYeh's equally informative paper on China's
foreign tradepointsto thesignificant changesin thecountry's export-import
mixand a generally favourable picture of foreign investors.
Yet he too notes
problemsin China'sdebtload,foreign exchangeshortages, and dependence
on imported machinery. Professor Yeh's onlysnafuwas his suggestion, since
negatedby Deng's 1992 'southern tour',thatin 1985 'thedebateoverthe
future oftheSEZs was apparently resolved'.
Solid,well-researched papersare also providedon theChinesemilitary
and foreign policy.JuneDreyerarguespersuasively thatDeng's approachto
military modernization hasbeeninfluenced byboththe'functional specificity'
model of a professional armyand the classic Maoist model emphasizing
military-civilianrelations.Dreyeris also probablycorrectin arguingthat
Deng's relianceon themilitary to resolvetheTiananmen crisisin 1989 will
proveto be 'a watershed'forthe PLA in China's futureinternal politics.
Papersby Jonathan Pollackand the late HaroldHintonon foreignpolicy
issuesare equallystrong, thoughbothare now datedby theunderstandable
fixationin thelate 1980son China'srelations withthenow defunct Soviet
Union.
On politicaland socialissues,thequalityof papersin thisbookvary.In
her almost exclusivefocus on proposalsby Wang Ruoshui and other
intellectuals
forliberalpoliticalreform in China,MerleGoldmanignoresless
politicalbutstillhighlycontroversial issuessuchas thedebatein theearly
1980s over Freudianpsychology. Both Lowell Dittmerand StuartSchram
focuson theideologicalaspectsof reform in China.Yet perhapstheyerrin
takingtherhetoric of theChineseleadership too seriously,
especiallyDeng's
August1980 speechon reforming the'systemof Partyand stateleadership'.
In reality,fewif anyof theliberalinstitutional changesproposedby Deng
were ever acted upon. Heavy rhetoric withno real institutionalreformis
exactlywhy Hu Yaobang was purgedin early 1987 (an eventthisbook

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166 THE AUSTRALIANJOURNALOF CHINESE AFFAIRS

generallyignores!)and a primary cause of the 1989 crisis.For Schramto

assertthatevenafterJune1989China'sleadersare resolved'to geton with
the task of political. . . reform'is, in the contextof Deng's persistent
affirmation oftheCCP's singlepartydictatorship, simplyludicrous.
Similarproblemsbeset the chapterson cadre and legal reform, and
education.HongYungLee providesprodigious dataon cadrerecruitment and
supposed'retirements' atthecentrallevelandbelow.Yet itis naivetosuggest
thatnewleadersare beingselectedon 'non-political' and 'objective'criteria
suchas age and education.The leadership coreof theCCP maybe younger
and morewell educatedthanits predecessors. But ideologicalstanceand
politicalloyalty,particularly afterHu Yaobang's purgeand theJune1989
crackdown, arestillabsolutely crucialin determining an individual'spolitical
prospects intheParty.
Contradictions underDeng betweenrhetoric and realityare even more
apparent in thelegalfield.After outliningthemanyproposalsforlegalreform
in the 1980s,HungdahChiu demonstrates thattheyhave had virtually no
effect.Trialsare stilla sham,Partysecretaries stillintervene in legal
directly
cases, and punishments, includingthedeathsentence, are decideduponand
metedoutbytheauthorities in a matterofdaysin directviolationof thenew
statutes.
SuzannePepper'sreviewof educationpoliciesis thorough - stretching
fromthe 1920sthrough the 1980s.But too muchof thispaperreadslike a
Maoist diatribeagainstChina's educatedelite,whomPepperunfairly (and
inhumanely) characterizesas 'bourgeoisbyreasonofbirth'andideologically
'unreconstructed'.Pepperis also plain wrongin uncritically acceptingth(
judgmentof a Chineseeducatorthatin the 1980s 'it is onlythechildrenof
cadresandintellectuals whocango tocollege'.
The appendedcommentsand critiquesof each paper by conference
participants is a valuableformat thatall future conference volumesshould
adopt.For instance,SuzanneOgden'scomment emphasizing theimpactof
China'slow budgetary expenditures on itseducational system providesa nice
counterpoint to Pepper's overlypoliticizedinterpretation of educational
developments. The speechesbythefourpolicymakersarealso an interesting
addendum,especiallyin bringingthe discussiondown to morepractical
matters thanareaddressedin theacademicpapers.Yet eventhepractitioners
of realpolitik, such as the thenfutureAmericanambassadorto China,J.
Stapleton Roy,getsweptup intherhetoric ofDengXiaoping'sreforms while
ignoring politicalrealities.The contribution by thePRC's UN representative
Li Luyewas a politicalpropaganda piecethatdoesnotdeserveinclusionin an
academicbook.

LawrenceR. Sullivan
AdelphiUniversity

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