Many China watchers were wary of promises of reform in the brief communiqué on the Third Plenum released last week. A longer resolution released on Friday clarifies the communiqué and makes concrete a number of reforms, including changes to the one-child policy and the end of re-education through labor. Former Mexican ambassador to China Jorge Guajardo tweeted that “China watchers are using the third plenum to pretend they understand China,” questioning the view of “Xi [Jinping] as the strongman.” Bill Bishop also commented in his Sinocism newsletter that “perhaps now is a good time to end the commentary about Xi Jinping being a ‘neo-Maoist.’” Neither suggest, however, that we can count on reforms before they’re implemented.
Chinese cartoonists on Weibo and beyond maintain a healthy dose of skepticism about the results of the Third Plenum.
Click any image to launch slideshow.
-
- Deng Xiaoping famously said that China should move through reform and opening by “crossing the river by feeling the stones.” He meant that the country should not surge ahead without consideration for uncertainties underfoot. But in Rebel Pepper’s cartoon, the path through the river is more predictable. “When we get into deep water we can stretch our arms even longer,” says the man in the center, his arm unnaturally extended to scoop up the spoils of official corruption at the bottom of the riverbed. “Mmh hmm,” says his companion, “now our top priority is making these buckets bigger.” (Rebel Pepper)
-
- Among the reforms decided at the Third Plenum is a slight relaxation of the one-child policy. Currently, both parents must be only children in order to be allowed two of their own. (There are also exceptions for members of ethnic minorities and other groups.) The new policy will allow couples to have two children as long as one partner is an only child. The change gives hope to some China watchers that the one-child policy will someday be gone altogether, but for now, deputy director of the National Health and Family Planning Commission Wang Pei’an insists that “adjusting and perfecting birth control policies is not tantamount to relaxing the work of birth planning.” (Badiucao)
-
- The National Security Commission, another product of the plenum, will oversee domestic security and stability concerns, as well as external threats. While cartoonist Badiucao compares the new agency with the former Soviet Union’s KGB, Jiu’an instead casts the commission as an army of pandas, led by a cuddly Xi Jinping. (Jiu’an)
-
- There is always concern that, without fundamental change to the one-party system, any reform is just a mouth-watering distraction. (Mengchenshang)
Check out more cartoons from CDT Chinese.
