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Josephine Ma

Deng, Jiang attacked by 170 retired cadres
Leftists have launched a fierce attack against former paramount leader Deng Xiaoping and former president Jiang Zemin in a letter signed by 170 retired cadres.
The lengthy letter submitted this week to the Politburo Standing Committee, the Communist Party's top echelon, calls for the removal of  The Theory of the Three Represents, developed by Mr Jiang, from the party's constitution at the 17th National Party Congress that will open on October 15.
The theory was included in the party constitution during the 16th congress five years ago as a move to enshrine Mr Jiang's legacy in party history.
The blunt letter drafted by outspoken leftist Li Chengrui, former chief of the state statistics bureau, said the charter should no longer uphold the thoughts of Mr Deng as the guiding principles of the party. The letter was circulated by some mainland leftist websites and forums, as well as by some overseas Chinese websites.
'Deng Xiaoping has some right opinions, but he also has wrong opinions. But The Theory of the Three Represents is completely wrong,' the letter says.
Mr Li said yesterday he was expecting no more than 20 signatures after he finished drafting the letter on September 4, but he was surprised by the overwhelming response  when he submitted the letter.
The letter  claims The Theory of Three Represents breeds corruption, nepotism and a widening income gap, and threatens the survival of the Communist Party.
Mr Li, 85, said the  Communist Party would follow in the footsteps of the former Soviet Union if the  congress did not restore the party  constitution to what it was like at the 15th  congress.
'It is not too late to eradicate the mistakes. Another choice will only lead to a dead end. No matter how you package it [as socialist or capitalist,  the party] will follow in the footsteps of the former Soviet Union and perish,' the letter says.
The letter also calls for public consultation on amendments to the party charter at the congress,  and says the party should consider delaying the keynote plenum to give time for consultation.
It says the 17th  congress should remove the provision  that allows  businesspeople to join the party  and reinstate the requirement that party  members are not allowed to 'engage in exploitation'.
It also calls for the party to ban capitalists from attending the party congress and says no capitalist should be allowed to become a member or alternate member of the party's  Central Committee, or join the party graft watchdog.
It also points a finger at Deng, describing his thoughts as inconsistent and contradictory.
'In general, I think there are more mistakes in Deng Xiaoping's thoughts [than  right thoughts],' the letter says, describing Deng's pragmatism as distorting Marxism.
The letter accuses Mr Jiang of muffling all opposition when he tried to enshrine The Theory of Three Represents in the party constitution - a move the letter describes as 'trampling [on] the party charter'.
'[The Three Represents] is not what should be called development, it is clearly a complete betrayal of Marxist theory,' the letter says.
It says Mr Jiang only managed to make the amendments by threatening cadres who did not support the theory that they would lose their jobs or lose the chance to become a 16th Party Congress representative.
'Now the party charter has become a piece of scrap paper and it can be neglected,' the letter says.
Mr Jiang's dwindling political clout has opened the way for the hardliners' attack.
The letter also calls for the restoration of two leftist magazines, the Quest for Truth and Mainstream.
It also openly criticises a rightist magazine, Yanhuang Chunqiu, and condemned it for trying to launch a 'colour revolution' on the mainland.
Other signatories included former provincial leaders, central party school teachers and former editors of party newspapers.



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Jiang Zemin

Left wing lashes out at Three Represents