Western style failing democracy 西式民主的失敗 SCMP: Xi Jinping rules out Western-style political reform for China / 美學者批西方民主「得個樣」何塞．史泰勒提醒港人，警惕高呼「民主」的政客是否「??......

5.0/1     

Western style failing democracy 西式民主的失敗 SCMP: Xi Jinping rules out Western-style political reform for China / 美學者批西方民主「得個樣」何塞．史泰勒提醒港人，警惕高呼「民主」的政客是否「在騙你的選票」 為金主謀利非為人民謀福  美兩黨為私利致國債如山  選舉前拿公帑大派當政績 

Cadres must 'adhere to central leadership of party' to prevent wrangling, president says

President Xi Jinping said cadres must "adhere to the central leadership of the party" and improve "overall coordination" to prevent the government from becoming "leaderless [and] fragmented". 

President Xi Jinping dismissed notions of Western-style political reform and underscored the importance of one-party rule in a speech delivered at the Great Hall of the People yesterday.

In remarks celebrating the 60th anniversary of the National People's Congress, Xi said China must have a unified leadership to ensure the country's development would not be diverted.

Xi said cadres must "adhere to the central leadership of the party" and improve "overall coordination" to prevent the government from becoming "leaderless [and] fragmented".

The government must prevent "political fighting and wrangling between political parties", he said.

Jacques deLisle, professor of law and political science at the University of Pennsylvania, said political reform appeared to be low on Xi's agenda.

"The picture that has emerged in Xi's first two years in power is that either he does not have a political reform agenda with liberal or democratic elements, or that it is not his priority. It ranks below economic reform, anti-corruption, and other issues related to the legitimacy of the party," deLisle said.

Even before Xi assumed office in early 2013, the question of his political direction vexed China analysts. Many were optimistic after the son of late reformist leader Xi Zhongxun chose Shenzhen, the symbol of China's open-door policy, as the place for his first official visit.

Others were concerned when he began to quote Mao Zedong and implemented a "mass line" campaign.

Since then, Xi has relentlessly cracked down on corruption, publicising the demise of "tigers and flies" - his term for high- and low-level officials.

After its third plenum, the party released its most extensive statement so far on the direction of the world's second-largest economy. The statement dealt with market-oriented economic reform, law, and corruption, but offered no blueprint for political change.

"[Xi] seems to think the party faces a lot of challenges, and to believe those challenges need to be dealt with by furthering economic reform and strengthening discipline and order," deLisle said.

Xi also discussed the implementation of "democratic decision-making", saying that when an election occurs, the government must be careful not to make "empty promises" that leave the country in a "post-election limbo".

Party cadres must "uphold and improve the system of democratic centralism and principles" and form strong governance to "prevent internal strife".

DeLisle said the leadership believed "in a centralised, strong and effective government".

"One part of the now long-standing Chinese leadership critique of Western-style democracy is that it is prone to paralysis and gridlock and ultimately governmental weakness," he said.

美學者批西方民主「得個樣」何塞．史泰勒提醒港人，警惕高呼「民主」的政客是否「在騙你的選票」 為金主謀利非為人民謀福  美兩黨為私利致國債如山  選舉前拿公帑大派當政績 

香港文匯報訊（記者 連嘉妮）香港反對派就香港特首普選問題提出定義含糊的所謂「國際標準」。長期研究美國政治的學者何塞．史泰勒（Jose Stelle），日前在接受本報專訪時指出，民主制度在根本上出現了問題，並不能像預期那樣為社會和政治帶來好秩序，完全是「好睇唔好食」的幻覺。他認為香港特區，以至整個中國和其他國家或地區，都應該認真思考是否直接複製西方國家的民主制度，並提醒香港人在有人高呼「民主」時，應了解對方的行為和其政黨的運行方式，「你便知道他是真心真意地按照對社會有利的原則來服務你，還是在騙你的選票。」

首次來港的何塞．史泰勒，看盡美國民主制度的千瘡百孔。他在其著作《共和白皮書--民主是終極方案嗎？》中指出，民主並不能像預期那樣為社會和政治帶來好秩序。「派系鬥爭，將令社會帶來普遍的不信任，和不時在社會下層發生動亂，演變成公共暴力，或破壞性的革命；不適當的政治集權。」

何塞．史泰勒目前正在香港出席講座及活動，講解他對民主制度的見解。他日前在接受香港文匯報專訪時坦言，自己對香港目前的政改問題不太了解，但如果香港政改的目標就是要達至西式的民主，那他就要請香港市民三思。

為金主謀利非為人民謀福

他說：「民主的理念是好，一人一票，選出能代表你的人，由該人去當權，代市民去處理國家（地區）的問題。不過，到了現實的情況，你會發現他們代表的不是投票給他的人的利益，而是為了自己政黨及背後支持該政黨的企業的利益。這是民主實行起來的悲痛現實。」

何塞．史泰勒以自己居住的美國為例，坦言自己從來無法了解任何一個候選人，「達至如同事或朋友般的程度」：「我從來都不明白包括我在內，以及其他人如何能真實地了解我們所選的人。他們都是準備好，然後突然走出來，說他是甚麼甚麼，他做過甚麼甚麼。這些可能是有名氣的人，吸引了很多人投票給他。」

他舉奧巴馬當選美國總統後接受訪問為例：當時，奧巴馬直認自己當日參選時的政綱，只是為了爭取當選，但在上任後，就是另一套遊戲規則。

美兩黨為私利致國債如山

「民主在美國走了過百年，現在美國一無是處。國債有增無減。共和黨、民主黨，看似有選擇，但背後的操作都是一樣，而結果是大家都因為要爭取自己的利益而令國債大增。他們當選的目的不是為人民，是為政黨以及支持政黨背後的集團的利益。」何塞．史泰勒解釋時，越說越氣憤。

他質疑，政黨接受政治捐款，然後政黨派代表向人民爭取選票，最後成為有權的政治人物，「他上台後，會為誰服務？ 我相信你都明白，銀行、金融機構、能源公司、軍工企業、汽車集團等，無不與那些政黨有密切的關係，百多年來醜聞不斷被揭發，但這個民主制度的遊戲規則仍然繼續下去。」

被問及所謂「未來以選票來回應政績」，意即領導人表現不濟，選民可在下一次選舉不投票予對方來作為「懲罰」，何塞．史泰勒坦言，這是不切實際的無奈方法，「首先，有一些破壞是無法在短時間內修補的。第二，新上台的政黨亦可能覺得自己無責任處理另一政黨留下的爛攤子。」

選舉前拿公帑大派當政績

他強調，最重要的是，「由於遊戲規則沒有變，你要明白這才是問題的根本，所以下一個上台的人，仍然會繼續為了自己政黨的利益，以及背後集團的利益，再次做出一些難以修補的破壞。到了下一個選舉期，他們便將納稅人的錢拿來，當作自己的政治本錢，大派福利，然後說成那些資源是他們爭取回來的。」

何塞．史泰勒建議香港，以至整個中國和其他國家或地區，都應該認真思考是否直接複製西方國家的民主制度，並提醒香港人道：「當有人高呼『民主』時，你可以問一問他何謂民主，然後再比較他的行為和其政黨的運行方式，你便知道他是真心真意地按照對社會有利的原則來服務你，還是在騙你的選票。」

Insight provided by Edward Liu, Attorney at Law in San Francisco: "Some background on Jose Stelle: A descendant of German and Italian immigrants, José Stelle grew up in Brazil and received a multifaceted education in Brazil, the United States, and the United Kingdom. Politically, the decisive event of his life was the constitutional chaos of Brazil in the early 1960s leading to the Revolution of 1964, which he witnessed up close as a teenager because he lived in a military camp and had relatives in the armed forces. Next to that in importance were the Cold War, the Vietnam War, and the effect of these events on the United States in the 1960s and ’70s. Between 1980 and 1985, Mr. Stelle worked as opinion editor of Brazil’s weekly news magazine Visão, which promoted the economic ideas of the Austrian school, particularly of Hayek, in Brazil. In 1983 (with Donald Stewart, a Brazilian of Scottish background) he cofounded Rio de Janeiro’s Instituto Liberal, the educational and public-policy-research organization that proposed and promoted the privatization of the government’s massive stake in Brazil’s economy. (The transfer of some 90 percent of the government’s assets to the private sector was successfully carried out in the late 1980s and through the 1990s; it was ended in 2001 by President Silva’s socialist administration.) During these years, Mr. Stelle also edited the Portuguese-language version of F.A. Hayek’s main political works. He moved permanently to the United States in 1986. He has taught at the Catholic University of Paraná, in Curitiba, Brazil, and at Lynn University and Palm Beach State College, both in south Florida. From 2006 to 2007, Mr. Stelle was a resident scholar at the Public Interest Institute at Iowa Wesleyan College. From 2009 to 2012, he was a fellow of the Beloff Centre for the Study of Liberty, University of Buckingham, UK, where he is still a visiting scholar. In the fall semester of 2013 he delivered a series of lectures in constitutional studies at Fudan University, Shanghai, China. Recently, employing his 39-year experience in the United States, he began work on an interdisciplinary critique of American history and culture, with emphasis on the uncertain American experiment in “popular government.” In philosophy, Mr. Stelle favors realism and has a strong interest in metaphysics, ancient epistemology, and the work of the Scholastics. He lives in Lake Worth, Florida."