China needs to establish“special political zones”

As Xi Jinping， the new leader of China’s Communist Party（CPC）， warned that corruption may lead to the collapse of the Party and the fall of the State， it became the consensus within the Party that it is now critical to implement serious political reform， or the CPC may eventually collapse like the ruling communist parties in the former Soviet Union and much of Eastern Europe over the last century.

However， with decades of stagnation in political reform， it has become increasingly difficult for the Party to push for progress， as powerful vested interests have become established in the interim.

In search of a solution， a number of pilot projects have been launched in various localities in recent years. Despite some success， these efforts have failed to deliver results.

To a large extent， China’s political reform has reached a deadlock. Although both local and central governments are calling for change， both are waiting for the other to make the first move. While local governments look to the central government to make changes to the political system， the central government is awaiting the results of “successful experiments” at the local level， to prove that change is feasible. In reality， without determined political will from the central government， there is no way that pilot projects at local level can expand to a broader scale， as this would require isolated local officials to challenge the entire heirarchy of officialdom， an effort that would be sure to fail.

To break the current deadlock in political reform， China needs to set up “special political zones” （SPZs）， just like the special economic zones （SEZs） that kick-started China’s rapid economic rise three decades ago. Unlike the current pilot programs， these SPZs must be granted considerable independence.

Meaningful reform must overhaul the currently centralized power structure within the government. China’s current power structure follows that of the former Soviet Union， which put the powers of decision-making， implementation and supervision in the hands of a single entity， the Communist Party. If China does not change this structure， it will eventually collapse.

Moreover， reforms must be made to the current personnel system， which is based on appointment rather than election a fertile breeding ground for corruption. With the establishment of SPZs， direct elections should be initiated at the township and county levels within two to three years， either within the Party or beyond， later expanding to the city and provincial levels.

The first SPZs could be regions of relative economic prosperity and liberal politics， such as Shenzhen in Guangdong Province， which was also China’s first SEZ. Additionally， different SPZs should be allowed to follow different approaches， just as SEZs were. For example， SPZs could choose to follow either the Hong Kong model of governance， the Singaporean model， or even the Taiwan model.

A major concern that prevents the Party from launching serious political reform is that if reform goes out of control， it may lead to political upheaval. With the establishment of SPZs， however， the risk of political chaos can be contained. There are about 2，800 counties or county-level regions in China， and if 28 of them are chosen to become SPZs， they would account for only one percent of the country.

The Party must realize that while serious political reform may be risky， doing nothing will be fatal.