Washington Post
Jun. 13, 2003 12:00 AM
BEIJING - President Hu Jintao is poised to announce limited but significant
political reforms that would permit for the first time more than one candidate
to compete for office in local legislatures, political sources said Thursday.
Newspaper editors have been told that Hu will announce the changes in a speech
July 1 to mark the 82nd anniversary of the Communist Party.
The expected reform comes during a larger debate over whether the government
should adopt political changes. That debate was triggered by widespread criticism
of China's cover-up of the SARS epidemic and the government's degree of openness.
Hu and Premier Wen Jiabao, both of whom came to power March 19, have encouraged
a relative openness since Health Minister Zhang Wenkang and Beijing's mayor,
Meng Xuenong, were sacked April 20 for mishandling the epidemic, Chinese sources
said.
The impending reform will affect the way the Communist Party nominates candidates
for mayor or provincial governor. Currently, only one candidate is nominated
and is automatically approved by the local People's Congress. Under Hu's plan,
more than one candidate would run for the post and delegates in the People's
Congress, not just the local party committee, would be allowed to nominate candidates
as well.
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