U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel’s resignation, like so many other topics, sparked many online discussions comparing China and the United States. I have always had my doubts about the promotion and resignation mechanisms for Chinese officials. The other day, some government workers told me that since the current administration intensified its anti-corruption campaign, Chinese officials and cadres in more than a few places are delaying things while observing things from the sidelines. That turned my doubts into worries. Under the anti-corruption campaign, we can arrest those who break the law, but we can’t do anything about those officials who are passively slow-rolling policies.
No matter the political system and form of government, there will always be some leading officials who have personal problems, or who disagree with the policies of top leaders. In the U.S., all you have to do in that case is submit your resignation – there’s a system in place to allow officials to step down. Hagel ostensibly resigned because of “personal reasons,” but in fact it’s clear to everyone that he had some disagreements with White House policies, which made him a lonely figure in high-level national security meetings. Obama’s Democratic Party suffered a big loss in the midterm elections, which usually means some high-level officials will resign. So it’s good timing for Hagel to step down – with his resignation, Obama will have the space to bring in new blood.
In the U.S., a resignation does not mean the end of an official’s political life. They can gain a new position once an opportunity arises, perhaps when a new administration comes into office. Former officials can turn to business or enter a think tank, and the older, deeply experienced ones can sit at home and write their memoirs (in fact, right now I am reading the memoirs of former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld). Those are pretty good choices. In each U.S. administration, there have been many officials that have resigned, allegedly for “personal reasons” but actually because of political reasons and differences of opinion. Generally, top leaders will politely praise the resignees, while former officials will not stir up trouble while the administration is in power – those memoirs will be published a few years later.
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