Jiang Zemin
Earlier, The Mirror had misunderstood Jiang's intent -- deeming that Jiang was willing to step down from the secretary-general's post -- and reported in its October issue last year that Jiang would announce his retirement in the party's 16th National Congress. That article said Jiang had reiterated his decision in last year's Beidaihe conference (北戴河會議) that at 16th National Congress he would withdraw from all his posts.
ILLUSTRATION: MOUNTAIN PEOPLE
"I've deeply pondered and considered the matter from all sides before putting forth this request. I believe my decision is in the party's and state's interest," Jiang was quoted in the magazine as saying. "We, at this age, might as well provide some ideas. But we lack the physical strength to fulfill our wishes. If we continue to occupy the positions and hinder those capable from carrying out tasks, it does no good to anyone. So now that I'm retiring, I would like to retire from all the posts I'm holding."
That article, however, was severely criticized by Jiang's office. The Mirror, in an attempt to make amends for its previous fault, took the lead in its March issue, hailing, "The CCP cannot be criticized; Jiang cannot step down."
Up to last year, Jiang did mention several times that he would hand over his posts to young people at the 16th National Congress. But with the congress drawing near, Jiang has been loosening his tone, leaving his succession to the party's decision. In his latest party speech, Jiang said, "Since our comrades requested [me to remain the leader], I can continue to dedicate my life to the state." But does that mean he'll quit as the party's secretary-general?
At the same time, voices began to emerge begging Jiang to stay. Since Jiang's speech at the Central Party School
Some local leaders in provinces of Jiangxi, Guangdong and Guangxi were ordered to take the lead in asking Jiang to stay. Other provinces and cities will follow suit. The pro-Jiang faction hopes to create a powerful wave of requests for Jiang to stay in his post by the time of the Political Bureau (政治局) meeting at the end of July and the Beidaihe conference in August. The goal is to form a consensus inside the party and submit it to the 16th National Congress with the help of the CCP Central Committee (中全會).
Jiang has said inside the party that he will withdraw from all the posts he's holding but that the whole party must beg him to stay. He can then humbly comply with the people's request and continue to work for the party and the country. This trick -- having one draped with the imperial yellow robe by one's supporters (黃袍加身), as a Chinese phrase goes -- can be traced back thousands of years ago.
As Chinese scholars pointed out, Jiang's words and behavior are looking more and more like those of Mao Zedong
The scholars also say that the pro-Jiang faction has actually been lauding Jiang to satisfy Jiang's selfish desire to cling to power. Eighty percent of the Chinese intellectuals -- whether they are leftists, centrists or rightists and no matter what attitudes they adopt toward the political systems -- hope that the frivolous and grandstanding Jiang will step down and hand over power to Hu Jintao
Facing the powerful campaign planned by the pro-Jiang faction to plead with Jiang to stay in power, Hu has no alternative but to join the chorus, expressing his wish that Jiang can remain the leader of the party and the country. According to those who know Hu, all he can do now is to keep calm and patient and let things develop naturally.
The pro-Jiang faction's plan reportedly is to have Jiang hand over only his presidency to Hu at the 16th National Congress, making Hu No. 2 in the leadership hierarchy as well as vice chairman of the Central Military Commission
As the pro-Jiang faction stirs up the hype requesting Jiang to stay, comments detrimental to Hu have emerged in Beijing. Hu reportedly has four serious problems. First, he has no track record of political achievements. Second, Hu should be held responsible for the scandal involving embezzlement of donations to the Hope Project by the China Youth Development Foundation (青基會). Third, Hu accepted US President George W. Bush's invitation to visit the US on the spot without Beijing's consent. And fourth, he has health problems. Hu reportedly suffered from high-altitude sickness while serving as secretary of the CCP's Tibet Autonomous Region Committee.
Will the power struggles in China's high-level authorities intensify if Jiang refuses to step down? Now some signs suggest that the answer is positive.
An article, entitled "Trend toward younger leaders irreversible" -- published in the latest issue of Guang Jiao Jing
But that article only mentioned four people who by the time of the 16th National Congress will be in their 70s -- Li Peng, 74, Zhu Rongji, 74, Wei Jianxing (尉健行), 71, and Li Lanqing (李嵐清), 70. Only the name of the 74-year-old Jiang was omitted. But the suggestion was there. That article can be seem as a message from some CCP members who oppose Jiang's serving another term as China's leader.
In early May, Jiang met with a group of military leaders while attending the Asian Development Bank (亞洲開發銀行) conference in Shanghai. During the meeting, Jiang raised an interesting question: What should we do if there is an ambitious individual in the government? He then demanded that each attendee express their opinions.
After the meeting, Wei, the sixth-ranking standing committee member in the Political Bureau, informed these servicemen that Jiang's words did not represent the opinion of the headquarters. Later, Wei also criticized Jiang at the bureau meeting, saying that Jiang's attempt to uncover any ambitious individual would breach the party charter and would be deleterious to political stability prior to the 16th National Congress. He added that the party will fall apart if everyone works to ferret out ambitious people.
All those hearing this through the grapevine were curious about who the ambitious individual Jiang referred to was. His successor Hu was designated by Deng Xiaoping
Some thought it could be Li Ruihuan or Zhu. Aside from Wei, Zhu reportedly is another standing committee member strongly opposed to Jiang's staying in power. He reiterated at several Political Bureau meetings that anyone who has reached a certain age must retire. Zhu told his subordinates at one point that if Jiang does not step down, he will make public every dirty secret because China can no longer implement a life tenure system. Some believe the hype within the party asking Jiang to stay at his posts aims at putting pressure on Zhu.
Another theory goes that Jiang might be pointing his finger at his first trusted follower, Zeng Qinghong
Although Jiang has made clear his intention to stay in power, there are still many variables affecting his dreams of becoming "emperor," given that he lacks the kind of charisma and authority that Mao and Deng had.
This article first appeared in Open magazine.
Translated by Jackie Lin
The Executive Yuan recently revised a page of its Web site on ethnic groups in Taiwan, replacing the term “Han” (漢族) with “the rest of the population.” The page, which was updated on March 24, describes the composition of Taiwan’s registered households as indigenous (2.5 percent), foreign origin (1.2 percent) and the rest of the population (96.2 percent). The change was picked up by a social media user and amplified by local media, sparking heated discussion over the weekend. The pan-blue and pro-China camp called it a politically motivated desinicization attempt to obscure the Han Chinese ethnicity of most Taiwanese.
On Wednesday last week, the Rossiyskaya Gazeta published an article by Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) asserting the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) territorial claim over Taiwan effective 1945, predicated upon instruments such as the 1943 Cairo Declaration and the 1945 Potsdam Proclamation. The article further contended that this de jure and de facto status was subsequently reaffirmed by UN General Assembly Resolution 2758 of 1971. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs promptly issued a statement categorically repudiating these assertions. In addition to the reasons put forward by the ministry, I believe that China’s assertions are open to questions in international
The Legislative Yuan passed an amendment on Friday last week to add four national holidays and make Workers’ Day a national holiday for all sectors — a move referred to as “four plus one.” The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), who used their combined legislative majority to push the bill through its third reading, claim the holidays were chosen based on their inherent significance and social relevance. However, in passing the amendment, they have stuck to the traditional mindset of taking a holiday just for the sake of it, failing to make good use of
As strategic tensions escalate across the vast Indo-Pacific region, Taiwan has emerged as more than a potential flashpoint. It is the fulcrum upon which the credibility of the evolving American-led strategy of integrated deterrence now rests. How the US and regional powers like Japan respond to Taiwan’s defense, and how credible the deterrent against Chinese aggression proves to be, will profoundly shape the Indo-Pacific security architecture for years to come. A successful defense of Taiwan through strengthened deterrence in the Indo-Pacific would enhance the credibility of the US-led alliance system and underpin America’s global preeminence, while a failure of integrated deterrence would
RSS