SUN
WUKONG Beijing lines up new
leaders By Wu Zhong, China
Editor
HONG KONG - Recent signs strongly
indicate that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is
ready to convene the national congress that will
select the country's top leaders for the next
decade.
On August 17, President Hu Jintao
and all other eight members of the Standing
Committee of the Politburo met in Beijing with
Chinese athletes who participated in the London
Olympics, congratulating them on their 38 golds,
27 silvers and 23 bronze medals. This was by no
means just a piece of sports news.
Since a
reception on the evening of July 31 held to mark
the 85th anniversary of the founding of the
People's Liberation Army (PLA), this was the first
time the nine most powerful men in China had
made a public appearance
collectively.
This signals that the
informal "holiday" meetings of incumbent and
retired top leaders at the summer resort of
Beidaihe have been concluded. It is a well-known
fact in China that the most important policies are
normally set in Beidaihe, informal as the meetings
may be.
At the beginning of his first term
of office, Hu once cancelled the annual Beidaihe
meeting, only to resume it the next year. This
underlines how retired leaders, especially Hu's
predecessor, Jiang Zemin, still retain their
influence and want to have a say on major party
and state affairs.
This year's Beidaihe
meeting was of special significance. It decided on
the candidates for the Politburo Standing
Committee who then would be formally endorsed by
the 18th National Party Congress. It also had to
select a short list of candidates for the
25-strong Politburo, normally one or two
candidates more than the seats, for the party
congress to choose from.
The conclusion of
the Beidaihe meeting means a consensus has been
reached on the composition of the CCP's top
leadership. As this most important item on the
agenda of the 18th party congress, the congress
opening is likely just a short time away - Hong
Kong media has estimated it will take place
between September 22 and November 25.
While the CCP leaders gathered at
Beidaihe, China's official propaganda apparatus
was gearing up to create a celebratory atmosphere
for the convention of the congress. Major media
outlets set up special sections to hail the
country's achievements in the past 10 years under
the CCP leadership headed by Hu and to cover
preparations for the event, such as the elections
of the 2,000-plus deputies.
The government
of Beijing municipality, where the party congress
will be convened, has also announced the
establishment of an ad hoc high-profile security
group to ensure no unpleasant incidents occur
during the all-important party meeting. Beijing
police have begun to round up beggars, petitioners
and people without residency permits, and drive
them out of the capital city. Beijing's
fire-fighting department has started to check,
twice a day, on the venues of the congress, hotels
where deputies are to stay, media centers, local
airport and railway stations, according to Chinese
media.
To stave off public discontent,
Beijing has stepped up efforts to address issues
angering Chinese the most. Premier Wen Jiabao and
other central government leaders have repeatedly
pledged that the government won't ease
macro-controls designed to cool the property
market despite economists urging Beijing to lift
these curbs so increased investment in real estate
could help stimulate growth.
Beijing has
also speeded up clampdowns on corruption and
criminal cases, especially involving senior
officials. Last week, a court in Hefei, provincial
capital of Anhui, passed down a suspended death
penalty on Gu Kailai, the wife of disgraced
Chongqing party chief Bo Xilai. This indicates
that the CCP will soon decide on how to punish Bo
himself.
Late last week, Chinese media
reports said the former minister of the railway,
Liu Zhijun, would be brought to trial ahead of the
congress on charges of taking huge kickbacks on
high-speed rail projects and of sleeping with
girls offered as "sexual bribes". Liu was deprived
of his party membership in May. At local levels, a
number of corrupt officials are also being tried.
On August 21, He Guoqang, a Politburo
Standing Committee member in charge of the Central
Commission for Disciplinary Inspection (CCDI) -
the party's top anti-graft watchdog - revealed
that the party congress would take measures to
"improve the anti-corruption system".
Beijing has also taken harsh measures to
prevent the spread of rumors about the vital
meeting, especially about the reshuffle of the top
leadership, in fear that they would cause
confusion in society and jeopardize the
"harmonious" atmosphere. Still rumors continue to
spread.
Shortly after the Beidaihe meeting
was deemed to have concluded, China-watching Hong
Kong media reported different versions about the
composition of the new Politburo Standing
Committee. In this author's view, the following
one is the most probable.
It is said that
at Beidaihe, a consensus was reached to reduce the
number of the Politburo Standing Committee (PSC)
from the current nine to seven. This is nothing
strange because there is no stipulation for any
specific number. While it is now nine, at one time
it was five, at another time seven - as long as it
is an odd number (for the sake of a majority
vote).
Vice President Xi Jinping, 59, and
Vice Premier Li Keqiang, 57, will stay on the the
PSC while the other seven members will retire at
this year's congress. Xi is set to succeed Hu as
China's supreme leader while Li will replace Wen
as premier.
The other five new members of
the Politburo Standing Committee are likely to
be: Yu Zhengsheng (67), currently
Shanghai party chief and a Politburo member, who
is likely to replace Wu Bangguo to head the
National People's Congress - China's
parliament; Zhang Dejiang (66),
currently vice premier and Chongqing party chief
and a Politburo member, who is likely to replace
Jia Qinglin to head the Chinese People's Political
Consultative Conference - the country's top
advisory body; Li Yuanchao (61),
currently a Politburo member and head of the CCP's
Cenrtral Organization Department, who is likely to
replace Xi as vice president; Wang
Qishan (64), currently vice premier and a
Politburo member, who is likely to replace Li
Keqiang as executive vice premier to oversee the
country's economic and financial
affairs; Wang Yang (57),
currently Guangdong party chief and a Politburo
member, who is likely to oversee party discipline
and law enforcement, taking over the current
portfolios of He Guoqiang and Zhou Yongkang.
This list is probable because it shows a
balance of power. Of the seven, Xi Jinping, Yu
Zhengsheng and Wang Qishan are "princelings". Yu
and Zhang Dejiang are known to be proteg้s of
Jiang Zemin. Li Keqiang, Li Yuanchao and Wang Yang
are regarded as proteges of Hu because like him
they all rose from the Chinese Communist Youth
League.
A balanced power structure at the top may be the best for China. “Strongman politics” has been gone with the death of Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping. Under such circumstances, a one-faction top leadership may not last long (like in Japan) and could hardly be (good for) stability in such a big country as China.
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