Personality cults out

Press, 8 September 1982, Page 8

Personality cults out

NZPA Peking China’s Communist Party yesterday passed a new Constitution designed to ensure that no one man could ever again hold the unfettered power of the late Chairman Mao Tse-tung-The constitution symbolically abolishes the chairmanship, and explicitly forbids any leader to place himself above the party organisation. The text, approved by a plenary session of the party’s twelfth national congress at Peking’s Great Hall of the People, takes effect at once. Another innovation of the Constitution is the establishment of a central advisory commission, to which aged but respected leaders will withdraw to take up a purely consultative role.

The party’s senior vicechairman (Mr Deng Xiaoping) who is 78, is expected to lead the retreat of the old

guard after successfully placing his proteges in key party and government posts, although diplomats agree that Mr Deng would continue to wield much influence. Mr Deng, party general secretary in 1966, was one of the main victims of the “cultural Revolution,” sparked by Mao to bring down his enemies in the hierarchy. Since his return to effective power in late 1978, Mr Deng has singlemindedly sought to remove the levers by which the, late chairman came to dominate the party, and eventually all China. The new Constitution, which he masterminded, sets it out clearly: “The party forbids all forms of personality cult. It is- necessary to ensure that all the activities of party leaders are subject to supervision by the party and the people. “No party, members, what-

ever their position, are allowed to make decisions on major issues individually. No leaders are allowed to practise arbitary individual rule or place themselves above the party organisation."

One Peking diplomat said after reading the document: “It is now clear they have gone for a policy of collective leadership. Under this constitution, no-one will ever wield the power of Mao Tsetung." With the abolition of the chairmanship, real power in the party will be with the general secretary, who will preside at meetings of the Politburo and of its standing committee which he would be empowered to call.

He would also be responsible for taking day-to-day decisions as head of the central committee’s permanent secretariat.