Illustration: Liu Rui

The concept of "hedging" is an interesting one, but also paradoxical. The government restricts the political rights of its citizens, in order to protect their social and economic freedom and benefits. This kind of hedging may be able to keep a balance, but what are the benefits and risks for the country and the citizens? It is necessary to consider the political and ethical significance of these issues, instead of framing them in pure economic terms.

Many countries and regions in East Asia have taken diversified paths to industrialization. Not every government monopolized political power and expanded the economic freedom. Although economic freedom stimulates enthusiasm for production and provides great impetus to industrialization, the concentration of political power does not provide the same impetus. Indonesia and Thailand have both had concentrated political power without concurrent growth.

Fang Ning argues, as do many, that the centralization of power during the Meiji Restoration helped Japan become a powerful nation. In fact, Japan had the potential and ability to realize industrialization and modernization before the Meiji Restoration. It was not the strong coordination and control ability of the central government, but the foreign influence and the development in technology, commerce, and education that made the period a success.

Modernization does not only refer to economic development, but also involves many other social and political subjects, including opening people's minds, improving education, extending civil rights and resolving social conflicts.

Considering China's modernization process, when we emphasize the importance of social order and stability, we neglect that it is hard to find the same examples as the experiences of China in other East Asia countries and regions.

 For example, we have tried to keep social order and stability through a strong government authority, but the result has been that the political elite has monopolized social resources. When we planned to realize high political institutionalization in nation-building, we did not promote the interdependence of democracy and political order. This has meant that the public's interests have often been ignored in the process of industrialization and many conflicts in this transitional period are still unsolved.

Fang follows the logic of the late US political scientist Samuel Huntingdon in arguing that expanding political participation prematurely will break the weak political system. However, can the hedging between power and rights leave both citizens and government satisfied?

Hedging is not the core of industrialization in East Asia. China should learn from and move beyond these experiences. China's industrialization is in a mid-term period, and we need a long time to complete. However, the social conflicts accumulated are serious, and many of them have been caused by limiting people's rights.

The globalization China faces now is different from the international situation the countries and regions in East Asia faced in the past. China cannot only pay attention to production incentives and ignore distribution incentives.

If we  want hedging to become the base of industrialization and modernization, the elites who control the political powers and resources must have a strong sense of morality. These elites should be conscious of their role in advancing democracy and freedom in the long run.

The author is a professor from School of International Relations and Public Affairs, Fudan University. opinion@globaltimes.com.cn


CounterPoint: East Asian model strikes balance of power and rights