A lesson from Yu, Shanghai's Party chief (2)

Sensitive talk continues

"Some comrades have said that many of the social problems in today's China after thirty years of reform and opening up, such as soaring inflation, a widening rich-poor divide and corruption, could have been solved by a multi-party system, just like the one adopted by Taiwan," he said.

"The political soil in the Chinese mainland is much more complicated than in Taiwan, and a multi-party system will only make the mainland an arena for opportunists," he said. "We all know that in the early part of the 20th century, not long after the establishment of the Republic of China, the country fell into the hands of warlords who engaged in tangled warfare. This should be a lesson to us; China needs a strong political party for now to solve many issues caused by its rapid development."

When asked to give advice to the young Party members, the Party Secretary said: "I am 66 years old now and I will soon be retiring, so China's future is in the hands of you young people; as a Party member, you should listen to others and be brave with the truth."