China's ruling communist elite opened an annual meeting yesterday that will focus on policies for spreading the nation's newfound prosperity more evenly and on President Hu Jintao's (
About 350 full and alternate members of the elite Central Committee opened a four-day plenary session which will decide the fate of Jiang ally Chen Liangyu (
"It means that Hu Jintao is now more or less in full control, that the Jiang Zemin era has ended," Joseph Cheng (
Analysts expect the meeting to strip Chen of his party membership and possibly turn his case over for prosecution.
In a power play, Hu took on Shanghai, Jiang's political stronghold and China's financial hub, to root out official graft and instil loyalty. Chen's downfall crippled the "Shanghai Gang" of Jiang allies and proteges.
Chen and other independent-minded local leaders had defied the central government's moves to cool the overheating economy.
Chen also lost his seat on the party's 24-member Politburo, the first member of the decision-making body to be dismissed since 1995 when Jiang purged and jailed Bei-jing party boss Chen Xitong (陳希同). The two Chens are not related.
The plenum, or full assembly, of China's ruling body is set to endorse Hu's doctrine of building a "harmonious society," which aims to embrace millions of Chinese left out of the country's economic boom. It will eventually replace Jiang's "Three Represents" theory, which opened the party's doors to private entrepreneurs.
The official Xinhua news agency defined a harmonious society as "a democratic society under the rule of law, a society based on equality and justice, an honest and caring society, and a stable, vigorous and orderly society in which humans live in harmony with nature."
Huang Zongliang (黃宗良), a Peking University professor, said Communist parties in the Soviet Union and Eastern European countries lost power because they distanced themselves from the masses, stuck to rigid procedures, refused to make changes, neglected contradictions and violated laws of development.
The Communist Party "should draw a lesson from them and avoid repeating their mistakes," Xinhua quoted Huang as saying.
Analysts say Hu's doctrine is aimed at correcting Jiang's mistakes while keeping his prestige intact and resolving a plethora of problems held over from the Jiang era.
Reforms during Jiang's 13-year watch have been blamed for a yawning gap between rich and poor and between wealthy coastal regions and the impoverished hinterland.
Exorbitant medical and housing costs, land grabs and pollution spawn thousands of protests a year.
The plenum, the sixth since Hu replaced Jiang as party chief in 2002, will also discuss policies aimed at expanding inner-party democracy, analysts said.
Shanghai Mayor Han Zheng (
SLOW-MOVING STORM: The typhoon has started moving north, but at a very slow pace, adding uncertainty to the extent of its impact on the nation Work and classes have been canceled across the nation today because of Typhoon Krathon, with residents in the south advised to brace for winds that could reach force 17 on the Beaufort scale as the Central Weather Administration (CWA) forecast that the storm would make landfall there. Force 17 wind with speeds of 56.1 to 61.2 meters per second, the highest number on the Beaufort scale, rarely occur and could cause serious damage. Krathon could be the second typhoon to land in southwestern Taiwan, following typhoon Elsie in 1996, CWA records showed. As of 8pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 180km
STILL DANGEROUS: The typhoon was expected to weaken, but it would still maintain its structure, with high winds and heavy rain, the weather agency said One person had died amid heavy winds and rain brought by Typhoon Krathon, while 70 were injured and two people were unaccounted for, the Central Emergency Operation Center said yesterday, while work and classes have been canceled nationwide today for the second day. The Hualien County Fire Department said that a man in his 70s had fallen to his death at about 11am on Tuesday while trimming a tree at his home in Shoufeng Township (壽豐). Meanwhile, the Yunlin County Fire Department received a report of a person falling into the sea at about 1pm on Tuesday, but had to suspend search-and-rescue
RULES BROKEN: The MAC warned Chinese not to say anything that would be harmful to the autonomous status of Taiwan or undermine its sovereignty A Chinese couple accused of disrupting a pro-democracy event in Taipei organized by Hong Kong residents has been deported, the National Immigration Agency said in a statement yesterday afternoon. A Chinese man, surnamed Yao (姚), and his wife were escorted by immigration officials to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, where they boarded a flight to China before noon yesterday, the agency said. The agency said that it had annulled the couple’s entry permits, citing alleged contraventions of the Regulations Governing the Approval of Entry of People of the Mainland Area into the Taiwan Area (大陸地區人民進入台灣地區許可辦法). The couple applied to visit a family member in
CELEBRATION: The PRC turned 75 on Oct. 1, but the Republic of China is older. The PRC could never be the homeland of the people of the ROC, Lai said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) could not be the “motherland” of the people of the Republic of China (ROC), President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday. Lai made the remarks in a speech at a Double Ten National Day gala in Taipei, which is part of National Day celebrations that are to culminate in a fireworks display in Yunlin County on Thursday night next week. Lai wished the country a happy birthday and called on attendees to enjoy the performances and activities while keeping in mind that the ROC is a sovereign and independent nation. He appealed for everyone to always love their
RSS