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China A Successor Generation
An even more remarkable shift in the composition of party
leadership occurred at the National Conference of Party Delegates
in September 1985. Over 100 senior party leaders submitted their
resignations, including 10 members of the Political Bureau and 64
members of the Central Committee. The officials reportedly gave
their reason for retiring as a desire to make way for younger and
better-educated leaders who were more equipped to lead China and
guide the reform program. In fact, these retiring leaders were a
mixed group, some of whom lacked the vigor and skills necessary to
handle the complexities of reform, while others had reservations
concerning the direction and pace of the reform program. Some even
may have believed that it was best to turn over responsibilities to
a younger leadership. In spite of this trend, Deng, who was himself
eighty-two years old, and several other senior leaders continued in
office. Officially, he maintained that his requests to retire had
all been turned down. In fact, the progress of the reform program
was heavily dependent on Deng's continued central role.
Hu Yaobang's demotion in 1987 also raised questions about the
quality of the selection process for top positions and even about
the stability of the reforming Chinese political system. Hu had
been viewed as Deng's successor as party leader, but he came under
attack from within the Political Bureau for what was described as
indirectly encouraging questioning of the communist system, for
pushing the economic reforms beyond their intended limits, and for
speaking out abruptly in international circles. Although Deng
reportedly apprised Hu of his errors, Hu was said to have failed to
change and thus was demoted in accordance with party disciplinary
rules. Obvious attempts were made to ease the general shock of Hu's
demotion, including allowing him to retain his seat on the Standing
Committee of the Political Bureau and having him shown in the press
in attendance at key meetings. It seemed likely that Hu would be
demoted further, at the Thirteenth National Party Congress
scheduled for October 1987. This would correspond to the treatment
a few years before of Hua Guofeng and preserve the appearance that
the party was handling leadership affairs rationally, in clear
contrast to the era of Maoist purges.
Data as of July 1987
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