The leadership of China's Communist Party convenes this weekend for its first annual conference since elevating a new generation of leaders, hoping to focus a message it considers crucial to its survival: raising living standards across the vast country.
Also on tap at the meeting of the Central Committee may be endorsement of an amendment to the Chinese constitution designed to enshrine the notion of an entrepreneurial Communist Party -- advocated by retired president Jiang Zemin (
The plenum of the 16th Communist Party Congress, to be held from today through Tuesday, unfolds as China prepares to take a big step skyward in its global stature, launching its first manned space mission to orbit the Earth, probably on Wednesday.
The events, so close together, appear timed in tandem to directly link the party with such a patriotic and modern accomplishment in the minds of the citizenry.
Though the plenum brings together China's top leaders in the Great Hall of the People on Tiananmen Square, such meetings are typically closed to public scrutiny and held amid tight security.
No significant political decisions are expected, though new party General Secretary Hu Jintao (
Jiang's theory of the "Three Represents," the vehicle to inject entrepreneurialism into Communist Party doctrine and thus make more people richer and more accepting of one-party rule, is continuously touted on state television and in the smallest villages as "important theory."
State media have been suggesting since August that "Three Represents" was bound for the constitution. Yesterday, the day before the plenum, the party newspaper People's Daily amplified that notion, insisting that study of the theory "must be deepened" to build a "transparent and clean party."
And late last month, China's media leaders attended a training workshop at the Communist Party School to study "Three Represents" thoughts.
"The CPC must always represent the most advanced productivity and culture in China as well as the fundamental interests of the maximal majority of the Chinese people," People's Daily said. Such language is party code for the difficult balance between socialism and market forces.
Aside from the constitutional amendment, which is effectively a procedural matter, party leaders must assess how their development and modernization drive -- and a related but equally important issue, building a "well-off" society -- is proceeding.
While development in China since 2000 has focused on the western regions, the volatile northeast -- home to millions of factory workers and manual laborers laid off because of the economic reforms of recent years -- is expected to be a priority.
Without the support of such workers, who ostensibly form the backbone of China's socialist system, the party could find themselves the subject of deep public anger that could threaten its absolute rule.
While Jiang's theory continues to have legs, the profile of the man himself has been significantly lowered. In state television coverage of a visit by former US president George Bush on Thursday, significant time was devoted to Bush's meetings with Hu and Premier Wen Jiabao (
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese
HYPOCRISY? The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday asked whether Biden was talking about China or the US when he used the word ‘xenophobic’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for a hike in steel tariffs on China, accusing Beijing of cheating as he spoke at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Biden accused China of xenophobia, too, in a speech to union members in Pittsburgh. “They’re not competing, they’re cheating. They’re cheating and we’ve seen the damage here in America,” Biden said. Chinese steel companies “don’t need to worry about making a profit because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily,” he said. Biden said he had called for the US Trade Representative to triple the tariff rates for Chinese steel and aluminum if Beijing was