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CNN Live At Daybreak

Gen-X Communism, Big Changes in China

Aired November 08, 2002 - 06:32   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: You could call it Gen-X communism. There's a major change going on this morning in China.
Our Beijing bureau chief, Jaime FlorCruz, joins us live from the videophone from Tiananmen Square, of all places.

And, Jamie, who is taking over for the Chinese Communist Party? And I guess you could call that question and a statement at the same time.

JAIME FLORCRUZ, CNN BEIJING BUREAU CHIEF: Yes, Carol, President Jiang Zemin delivered the keynote speech in the party congress this morning, and it sounded like a swan song of a proud 79-year-old statesman.

President Jiang is expected to give up his title at the end of this week-long congress, and will be succeeded by a generation of leaders, most of whom are techno-class (ph) engineers, bureaucrats, whose instincts would be more up to keep the status quo rather than push for any radical changes.

But President Jiang summed up his 13-year tenure as China's No. 1 leader, citing the fact that China has survived a lot of crises, including the standoff -- the dangerous standoff with the United States when a U.S. surveillance plane crashed over Hainan Island two years ago. China has also enjoyed rapid economic growth and the peoples' living standards has been growing.

So, he has a lot to brag about -- Carol.

COSTELLO: You know, tell us more about an interesting twist to all of this, because I know the Chinese government is trying to infuse its government with young leaders. They're also talking about something called "red capitalists."

Yes, Carol, the Chinese love to say "red and expert (ph)," but for President Jiang this morning proposed that a select group of capitalists -- millionaires -- be admitted into the party, the party of the working class. And that, of course, has become quite controversial among the orthodox (ph) communists, who think that that's scandalous.

However, Jiang thinks that by doing so, the party can adapt to the modern times, the party can expand its power base. And so, we expect to see at least a token number of so-called capitalists to enter the party in the next few years -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Who would ever have thought a marriage between capitalism and communism? Thank you very much, Jaime.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.






Aired November 8, 2002 - 06:32   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: You could call it Gen-X communism. There's a major change going on this morning in China.
Our Beijing bureau chief, Jaime FlorCruz, joins us live from the videophone from Tiananmen Square, of all places.

And, Jamie, who is taking over for the Chinese Communist Party? And I guess you could call that question and a statement at the same time.

JAIME FLORCRUZ, CNN BEIJING BUREAU CHIEF: Yes, Carol, President Jiang Zemin delivered the keynote speech in the party congress this morning, and it sounded like a swan song of a proud 79-year-old statesman.

President Jiang is expected to give up his title at the end of this week-long congress, and will be succeeded by a generation of leaders, most of whom are techno-class (ph) engineers, bureaucrats, whose instincts would be more up to keep the status quo rather than push for any radical changes.

But President Jiang summed up his 13-year tenure as China's No. 1 leader, citing the fact that China has survived a lot of crises, including the standoff -- the dangerous standoff with the United States when a U.S. surveillance plane crashed over Hainan Island two years ago. China has also enjoyed rapid economic growth and the peoples' living standards has been growing.

So, he has a lot to brag about -- Carol.

COSTELLO: You know, tell us more about an interesting twist to all of this, because I know the Chinese government is trying to infuse its government with young leaders. They're also talking about something called "red capitalists."

Yes, Carol, the Chinese love to say "red and expert (ph)," but for President Jiang this morning proposed that a select group of capitalists -- millionaires -- be admitted into the party, the party of the working class. And that, of course, has become quite controversial among the orthodox (ph) communists, who think that that's scandalous.

However, Jiang thinks that by doing so, the party can adapt to the modern times, the party can expand its power base. And so, we expect to see at least a token number of so-called capitalists to enter the party in the next few years -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Who would ever have thought a marriage between capitalism and communism? Thank you very much, Jaime.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.