All provinces and cities have been told to report to central authorities on 'factors of instability'. A party source said yesterday the General Office of the party Central Committee had issued a circular to regional officials asking them to raise their guard against challenges to the administration. The circular was issued in tandem with President Jiang Zemin's speech on Friday marking the 20th anniversary of late paramount leader Deng Xiaoping's reforms. 'Local cadres must file a detailed report on areas including labour unrest, underground organisations and other 'anti-Beijing' elements,' the source said. They also were asked to organise special ideological classes to study Mr Jiang's speech, which emphasised maintaining national stability and fighting Western influences. The source added that similar instructions had been given to leading cadres in universities. These cadres were asked to be on the look-out for anti-government activities by students. However, it is understood many local officials are reluctant to give Beijing a full account for fear of their own abilities being called into question. Other cadres pointed out in internal sessions that most rallies and demonstrations by workers were caused by purely economic factors. Meanwhile, leftists have exploited the conservative turn in mainland politics to push their quasi-Maoist agenda. A Beijing source said the remnant Maoists held their own meeting last Friday to mark the two decades of reform. The meeting was held at the Contemporary China Research Society, a bastion of leftists whose 'godfather' is former propaganda chief Deng Liqun. Society head Li Li'an's speech played up Deng Xiaoping's conservative teachings such as 'fighting bourgeois liberalisation'. Mr Li, a former secretary-general of the Central Advisory Commission, was referring to the need to prevent cadres from adopting all-out Westernisation. Other leftists attending the session focused on the need to contain the political influence of the 'new class' of private entrepreneurs.
