Leading liberal Hu Deping in call for party reform
Hu Deping's outburst against the party's unchecked power seen as a bid to catch ear of leaders as they gather for changing of the guard
Leading liberal Hu Deping has called for reform and for policies that better conform to the country's constitution.
The statement by Hu, son of the late Communist Party general secretary Hu Yaobang, was published by the weekly Economic Observer yesterday, days ahead of the party's once-in-a-decade power change at its 18th national congress.
At the meeting, Xi Jinping will succeed Hu Jintao as party general secretary and as such will head a new line-up on the Politburo Standing Committee, the nation's top decision-making body.
Hu Deping said the new party leaders must face two pressing issues: pursuing political and economic reforms and restoring the role of the constitution as the basis of government in the country.
"Reforms should not be abandoned and promises should not be dumped," wrote Hu Deping, 69.
The line appeared to be a reference to reforms by party leaders in the past decades and a veiled criticism that political reforms have been stalled since the Tiananmen Square crackdown in 1989.