By elevating Deng Xiaoping Thought to state creed status, Mr Jiang has answered criticism from ultra-leftists that China had abandoned socialism, legislator and scholar Professor Dong Fureng said.
'There are still some people who challenged Deng Xiaoping's reforms,' Professor Dong said.
'But by further elevating Deng Xiaoping Thought as a theory in his political report, Jiang Zemin has made it clear that China will not change her reforms even though Deng had died.
'There is a real threat on reform and all this talk about leftism in the newspapers is not just propaganda for the congress,' the Beijing University professor said.
'Not long ago, there were people who criticised Deng Xiaoping and even challenged his 'Three Benefits' criteria.' Professor Dong was referring to 'Deng's Creed' which said any policies that helped promote productivity, living standards and national strength should be encouraged.
'There are people who questioned whether China should continue to use foreign capital. They claimed it was foreign capital 'using' China and China had not benefited from using foreign capital,' he said.
