Chinese state media yesterday said it was crucial the ruling communist party adapt to social changes but gave few clues about an apparent power struggle as a secretive party plenum convened for a second day.
"China's economic and social transition has reached a crucial point, setting an unprecedented test for the Party's competence to govern the country," the English-language China Daily said in an editorial.
"By making the party's governance an open topic, the ongoing plenum has sent an encouraging signal that the leadership has to acknowledge the pitfalls and is willing to change with the times."
Some 198 top party officials are meeting in Beijing with hundreds of "leading cadres" for four days of closed-door talks aimed at bolstering the party's fading image.
The official Xinhua news agency said the meeting's emphasis on "strengthening the party's ruling capabilities" would "lay a solid foundation for China's long-term stability and prosperity".
It said "many deep-rooted problems" were starting to emerge and were "threatening to undermine social stability" as the country's economic development continued apace.
The solution lay in the promotion of democracy and the rule of law, as well as making the party and the government more accountable to the people, it said.
China has a different interpretation of the concept of democracy from the West and its leaders have ruled out multi-party elections.
The term is more generally used to refer to a more consultative role played by the public.
Overshadowing the talks were concerns that the leadership remained divided between two generations of politicians.
Speculation has been rife that former party leader Jiang Zemin (江澤民), 78, is refusing to stand down from his position as commander-in-chief of the military, preventing current party leader and President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤), 61, from exercising effective power.
China's state media made no mention of this yesterday although Taiwan's United Daily News claimed Jiang had made a "request" to resign in a letter to the plenary.
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