CHINESE patriarch Deng Xiaoping has thrown his weight behind another round of fast-paced growth even though many objectives of the four-month-old austerity programme have not been reached.
A host of liberal cadres, including aides to ousted party chief Zhao Ziyang, have also re-surfaced to lend their support to radical economic liberalisation.
Chinese sources said yesterday that in spite of his failing health, Mr Deng had recently expressed concern that ''sustained, high-speed, and healthy growth'' should not be jeopardised by the on-going retrenchment exercise.
The sources said the 89-year-old senior leader had coined a new slogan - ''Only speedy development passes the rigorous test of reason.'' They said Mr Deng had expressed worries that excessive concentration on ''curing and restructuring the economy'' might detract the nation from the ''core'' task of fast-paced growth.
The patriarch's argument, which has already resulted in a moratorium being put on many aspects of the austerity programme, was endorsed by an unusual economic conference held in Beijing yesterday.
The nearly 100 participants included aides to the late party general secretary Hu Yaobang and Mr Zhao.