China's top communists met behind closed doors yesterday at a key party congress that will reappoint the country's core leadership and promote a slate of fresh faces into powerful positions.
The sensitive transition comes as China's economy continues to surge but amid rising public anger over corruption, pollution and a yawning wealth gap between the rural poor and the better-off populations in the booming coastal cities.
In a speech marking the opening of the once-every-five-years Communist Party Congress on Monday, Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) promised modest steps to reform the government, build up the military and expand social programs.
Hu outlined no bold initiatives. But he offered something for most key constituencies -- tinkering with the authoritarian political system for the party's liberal wing, more money for the politically influential military and praise for Marx and Mao Zedong (
The meeting, which ends on Sunday, is seen as a critical test of his political skills. He is to be reappointed for a second and probably final five-year term but key measures of his influence will be how many supporters he can maneuver into key positions.
Hu, 65, is expected to push for the elevation of protege Li Keqiang (
Since Hu took the reins in 2002, China's economy has expanded 75 percent to become the world's fourth-largest, giving the government greater sway over international affairs.
"During this period, China's overall strength grew considerably and the people enjoyed more tangible benefits. China's international standing and influence rose notably," Hu told the 2,200 delegates inside the Great Hall of the People.
He cited China's manned space flight and next year's Beijing Olympics.
The front pages of China's leading newspapers were liberally splashed with patriotic red font and offered nearly identical, and uniformly positive, coverage of the event.
Ahead of the congress, the government detained political activists and closed down many interactive Internet sites.
Much of the speech centered on Hu's signature policy, a program to channel breakneck development by spreading the benefits of economic growth more evenly. As part of that effort, he promised to expand social security and health insurance programs and expand subsidies for rural education.
The programs are intended to bridge social divisions that have erupted.
"There are still a considerable number of impoverished and low-income people in both urban and rural areas, and it has become more difficult to accommodate the interests of all sides," Hu said.
Hu offered minor reforms intended to make the government more responsive to public demands. Government advisory bodies that include nonparty members would be expanded and party-controlled legislatures will get more rural representatives.
But he made clear that the changes would not challenge one-party rule.
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
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
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