A top Communist Party reformer said reining in the unchecked power of China's ruling party was the only way to modernise the nation, urging reforms on the eve of a once-in-a-decade leadership transition.
His comments, carried in the current issue of the respected Economic Observer weekly newspaper, come as the party opens its 18th congress Thursday, ushering in a 10-yearly leadership transition that will see President Hu Jintao step down as party chief before he retires as president in March.
"There are too many times when power becomes bigger than the law, when the power of the party and government interferes with the judicial process," wrote Hu, who is unrelated to Hu Jintao. "The basic task of the Chinese Communist Party is to make continuous efforts to advance the establishment and implementation of socialist constitutional government ... this is also the demand of the times."
In his comments Hu, a leading reformist voice on China's top political advisory body, expressed the hopes for political reform of many party insiders, while also echoing the demands of dissidents and rights activists, many of whom have been jailed.
Hu said that 100 years after the Qing Dynasty, China's last imperial ruling house, the Communist Party continued to refuse real constitutional restraints with disastrous results to society and civil rights.
Read more: Top China reformer calls to rein in communist power | Radio Netherlands Worldwide
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