From The Washington Post:
When China decided to liberalize its economy back in the late 1970s, Shenzhen was chosen as the vanguard, the first “special economic zone” allowed to do business free of Communist-era restrictions.
Three decades later, the city has set out to reprise its pioneer role, this time in the political arena. Local Communist Party leaders have drafted a reform plan that would soften key aspects of China’s Leninist political system, authorizing expanded powers for the local legislature, direct elections for some local officials, a more independent judiciary, and greater openness and accountability within the party.
The changes advocated by Shenzhen’s municipal party committee, published last Tuesday in its official newspaper, show that beneath the ice cap of Communist rule in China, debate about democratization is quietly bubbling. Even if they are never put into practice, the suggested reforms also provide insight into the kinds of changes that China is likely to adopt nationwide if the party ever decides to liberalize politics the way it decided in 1978 to liberalize the economy.
