Thursday, October 11, 2007
Oh man, things are about to get pretty interesting. According to the semi-official China News Service, Hu Jintao WILL NOT unilaterally designate a successor. Instead, the successor will be derived in a "scientific manner." Will there be procedural changes in the party constitution in this regard? I think Hu is doing this out of political necessity. Essentially, since Xi Jinping is now the favorite to win the successor seat, Hu would rather enlarge the selectorate (i.e. "scientific") and the pool of candidates. This way, at least Li Keqiang will have a fighting chance. Also, as I have repeated many times on this blog, creating uncertainty at the 17th Party Congress will allow Hu to make strong claims to stay for another five years at the 18th Party Congress due to fear of "instability."
ZTS: Hu Jintao 'Not' To Designate Successor at 17th Party Congress
CPP20071010063002 Hong Kong Zhongguo Tongxun She in Chinese 1130 GMT 10 Oct 07
["Special" report by ZTS contributing correspondent Zhuang Gong: "Hu Jintao Will Not Designate His Successor"]
Beijing, 10 Oct (ZTS) -- High-level personnel arrangements during the upcoming 17th Party Congress have drawn most attention in the outside world, particularly the selection of candidates for Hu Jintao's successor. This has evoked all kinds of endless speculation in media outside the country. However, an informed source in Beijing confirmed to ZTS today that Hu Jintao will not designate a successor during the 17th Party Congress, nor will he do so in the future.
The CPC practice of designating successors started with Mao Zedong and continued until Deng Xiaoping. This was a product of the special era. Only special leaders like Mao and Deng, who enjoyed absolute personal authority, could do that. Today, internal and external environments related to Zhongnanhai have undergone great changes. Particularly since Hu Jintao took up the post of CPC Central Committee general secretary, they have proposed administering the country according to law as well as drawing up policies in a scientific and democratic manner. Political democracy has become an irreversible trend in China. Designating successors is doomed to end in history.
Recently the CPC Central Committee Political Bureau convened a meeting to discuss the central authorities' political work since the Sixth Plenary Session of the 16th CPC Central Committee. It reiterated the need to implement democratic centralism and adhere to the principle of holding collective discussions and making collective decisions on major issues. Important information disclosed was that the CPC high-level leadership is determined to push forward democratic politics, and "major issues requiring collective discussions and collective decisions" has become a system. The informed source said that the ongoing Seventh Plenary Session of the 16th CPC Central Committee has been extended to four days for the Political Bureau to report to the plenary session on, among other issues, the deliberation of personnel arrangements. The pace of systemization in various aspects has markedly speeded up. This also shows that the selection of candidates for CPC successors in the future will not be decided by an individual. "Imperial designation" of successors has been replaced by "collective discussions and collective decisions." In this connection, the CPC will no longer select one person to become a successor; instead, it will observe and foster a group of people. The CPC is currently building a mechanism for the selection and cultivation of a successors contingent in a scientific manner.
The informed source pointed that speculation in the outside world on Hu Jintao's successor runs counter to Hu Jintao's idea to promote inner-party democracy. The Hu Jintao-led CPC is moving in a more open and more democratic direction. How to accomplish the transformation from a revolutionary party into a ruling party and further promote inner-party democracy and social harmony is a major hotspot during the 17th Party Congress.
ZTS: Hu Jintao 'Not' To Designate Successor at 17th Party Congress
CPP20071010063002 Hong Kong Zhongguo Tongxun She in Chinese 1130 GMT 10 Oct 07
["Special" report by ZTS contributing correspondent Zhuang Gong: "Hu Jintao Will Not Designate His Successor"]
Beijing, 10 Oct (ZTS) -- High-level personnel arrangements during the upcoming 17th Party Congress have drawn most attention in the outside world, particularly the selection of candidates for Hu Jintao's successor. This has evoked all kinds of endless speculation in media outside the country. However, an informed source in Beijing confirmed to ZTS today that Hu Jintao will not designate a successor during the 17th Party Congress, nor will he do so in the future.
The CPC practice of designating successors started with Mao Zedong and continued until Deng Xiaoping. This was a product of the special era. Only special leaders like Mao and Deng, who enjoyed absolute personal authority, could do that. Today, internal and external environments related to Zhongnanhai have undergone great changes. Particularly since Hu Jintao took up the post of CPC Central Committee general secretary, they have proposed administering the country according to law as well as drawing up policies in a scientific and democratic manner. Political democracy has become an irreversible trend in China. Designating successors is doomed to end in history.
Recently the CPC Central Committee Political Bureau convened a meeting to discuss the central authorities' political work since the Sixth Plenary Session of the 16th CPC Central Committee. It reiterated the need to implement democratic centralism and adhere to the principle of holding collective discussions and making collective decisions on major issues. Important information disclosed was that the CPC high-level leadership is determined to push forward democratic politics, and "major issues requiring collective discussions and collective decisions" has become a system. The informed source said that the ongoing Seventh Plenary Session of the 16th CPC Central Committee has been extended to four days for the Political Bureau to report to the plenary session on, among other issues, the deliberation of personnel arrangements. The pace of systemization in various aspects has markedly speeded up. This also shows that the selection of candidates for CPC successors in the future will not be decided by an individual. "Imperial designation" of successors has been replaced by "collective discussions and collective decisions." In this connection, the CPC will no longer select one person to become a successor; instead, it will observe and foster a group of people. The CPC is currently building a mechanism for the selection and cultivation of a successors contingent in a scientific manner.
The informed source pointed that speculation in the outside world on Hu Jintao's successor runs counter to Hu Jintao's idea to promote inner-party democracy. The Hu Jintao-led CPC is moving in a more open and more democratic direction. How to accomplish the transformation from a revolutionary party into a ruling party and further promote inner-party democracy and social harmony is a major hotspot during the 17th Party Congress.
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