Political reform doesn't need blueprint, says academic Fang Ning
Country urged to emulate Deng's economic reform theory of 'crossing the river by following the stones' when it comes to change
A leading mainland political scientist has called for the immediate kick-starting of long-stalled political reform, saying it does not require an established theoretical framework.
An article published yesterday in the Global Times by Fang Ning, the director of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences' Research Institute of Political Sciences, said China should follow a dictum made famous by late paramount leader Deng Xiaoping when he embarked on market reform three decades ago.
In the article, headlined "Political system reform should follow the fashion of crossing the river by feeling the stones", Fang said there was "no need for a guideline, no need for a timetable, a roadmap or a designed plan by the top leadership" if political reform followed in the footsteps of economic reform.
Fang emphasised the significance of the experience gained from market reform, which was first introduced experimentally in some regions and then to other regions if the experiments were successful.
He is the latest academic to join a chorus calling for political reform ahead of the Communist Party's 18th national congress, which will open next Thursday.
"A great many experiences at home and abroad prove [such an approach] will succeed in the end," he wrote. "And this is what we in China call 'crossing the river by feeling the stones'."