The only mantra to lasting success is democracy. That’s the cleanest and most popular choice in the world, and most of the developed and developing countries are following the golden principles of democracy. But China is one of the rapidly developing countries that has yet to embrace democracy. Instead it is still following the path of Communism and surprisingly, the economy is growing and progress is being made in leaps and bounds.
But China is still a mysterious and often an unwelcoming one for many. The Communist party in the nation hardly provides any window of opportunity for an outsider to peep into its internal workings. But the reshuffling phenomenon has been revealed nevertheless. President Hu Jintao might still be the leader of his party as well as his nation but his authority and control of the party has met with a severe blow.
President Hu’s control over the Communist Party has been decimated in the wake of the restructuring process initiated by the party’s Central Committee. Mr. Hu had four officials in his patronage and wanted all of them to be elevated to the ruling Politburo Standing Committee but only one of them was embraced.
This is a huge blow to Mr. Hu and his supporters. The President is gunning for another 5-year term in office. But there’s more to follow for Mr. Hu and it’s not looking sunny at all. The accepted politician to the Standing Committee, Li Keqiang, who is also the party secretary of Liaoning Province, is likely to be outmaneuvered by the party boss of Shanghai, Xi Jinping as the most likely successor to Mr. Hu as party chief. And this would imply the further curtailment of power for Mr. Hu.
Now, Mr. Hu has now been forced to accept a trimmed role as party leader and President of China. To some this augurs a change for the better but to many, especially to his supporters, the move comes as something that undermines the swift economic and social development that Mr. Hu’s regime has accomplished in his time. Anyway, China’s communist principles stay put.
Image Source: Business Week
Source: The New York Times
