Basically, Bo would be a tyrant if he took the leader position. More and more of his followers betrayed him.
China suspends Bo Xilai from Communist Party politburo
- Thread starter nrj
- Start date
China Lashes Out at Disgraced Politician | News | English
China's worst political scandal in decades dominated newspaper front pages in the Chinese capital Wednesday: a high ranking politician suspended from his key central party post and his wife suspected in the death of a British businessman.
The articles say Bo Xilai's conduct has seriously violated the party's disciplinary rules and has badly harmed the image of the party and country.
The People's Daily, which is seen as the mouthpiece of China's ruling Communist Party, published an editorial Wednesday saying no one is above the law.
Related - China Strips Bo Xilai of Key Party Posts, Suspects Wife of Murder
Bo is a former commerce minister and most recently was the party secretary of Chongqing, a huge city in southwestern China. He is the son of a famous revolutionary and was widely expected to eventually join the top echelons of Communist party in an important party conference later this year.
One of the final nails on his political coffin came late Tuesday night, in a brief dispatch from the state-run Xinhua News Agency that said Bo was being suspended from his membership in the party's central committee. Another report announced that Bo's wife, Gu Kailai, is facing a criminal investigation in relation to the death of British businessman Neil Heywood last year.
Scandal, a reflection of party infighting?
Veteran writer Dai Qing, who closely follows Chinese politics, likens the unfolding events to a stage play - in which the audience watches, but cannot affect the outcome.
She says the latest political scandal illustrates a high-level and internal fight within the Communist party. She says most Chinese people have no say in matters and can only watch from the sidelines.
Xinhua says Gu and Heywood had business dealings, but they had a conflict about economic interests that had intensified. Heywood's death in Chongqing in November was not considered suspicious at the time, but police are now re-opening the case.
Dai says, if Gu committed murder or if Bo was indeed some sort of accomplice, then officials have to show proof of wrongdoing.
Dai says she is absolutely sure that Gu will receive a stiff sentence. She says she believes this is because it is, in her words, "the least damaging outcome for the party."
She adds that the Chinese Communist party wants to present a united front before a major meeting this fall. The session which takes place once every five years, is significant because the party will name the country's new top leaders.
China's Foreign Ministry refused to comment on what impact these events will have on the country's international image, and said only that the case is being handled by Chinese judicial authorities.
Focus on Bo's wife
Political commentators have highlighted the focus on Bo's wife, noting that Chinese political culture is full of well-known historical references to evil women, who were singularly blamed for committing atrocities.
Michael Anti, a political columnist and blogger, says he found it odd that the official reports all referred to her as BoGu Kailai, which appends her husband's surname in front of her own.
"Chinese propaganda guys really intentionally want to tell the people: [the] woman is not the woman [by] herself. It's BoGu Kailai. It's Bo Xilai's wife," said Anti. "It's not targeting the woman, it's not like the evil woman destroyed a good man. It's that the man, himself, is evil."
Anti agrees that the scandal is indicative of a high-level power struggle. He compares the latest events in Chongqing to a serialized TV drama that he says was written and directed by China's central leaders, whom he adds are the only ones who know the real story.
China's worst political scandal in decades dominated newspaper front pages in the Chinese capital Wednesday: a high ranking politician suspended from his key central party post and his wife suspected in the death of a British businessman.
The articles say Bo Xilai's conduct has seriously violated the party's disciplinary rules and has badly harmed the image of the party and country.
The People's Daily, which is seen as the mouthpiece of China's ruling Communist Party, published an editorial Wednesday saying no one is above the law.
Related - China Strips Bo Xilai of Key Party Posts, Suspects Wife of Murder
Bo is a former commerce minister and most recently was the party secretary of Chongqing, a huge city in southwestern China. He is the son of a famous revolutionary and was widely expected to eventually join the top echelons of Communist party in an important party conference later this year.
One of the final nails on his political coffin came late Tuesday night, in a brief dispatch from the state-run Xinhua News Agency that said Bo was being suspended from his membership in the party's central committee. Another report announced that Bo's wife, Gu Kailai, is facing a criminal investigation in relation to the death of British businessman Neil Heywood last year.
Scandal, a reflection of party infighting?
Veteran writer Dai Qing, who closely follows Chinese politics, likens the unfolding events to a stage play - in which the audience watches, but cannot affect the outcome.
She says the latest political scandal illustrates a high-level and internal fight within the Communist party. She says most Chinese people have no say in matters and can only watch from the sidelines.
Xinhua says Gu and Heywood had business dealings, but they had a conflict about economic interests that had intensified. Heywood's death in Chongqing in November was not considered suspicious at the time, but police are now re-opening the case.
Dai says, if Gu committed murder or if Bo was indeed some sort of accomplice, then officials have to show proof of wrongdoing.
Dai says she is absolutely sure that Gu will receive a stiff sentence. She says she believes this is because it is, in her words, "the least damaging outcome for the party."
She adds that the Chinese Communist party wants to present a united front before a major meeting this fall. The session which takes place once every five years, is significant because the party will name the country's new top leaders.
China's Foreign Ministry refused to comment on what impact these events will have on the country's international image, and said only that the case is being handled by Chinese judicial authorities.
Focus on Bo's wife
Political commentators have highlighted the focus on Bo's wife, noting that Chinese political culture is full of well-known historical references to evil women, who were singularly blamed for committing atrocities.
Michael Anti, a political columnist and blogger, says he found it odd that the official reports all referred to her as BoGu Kailai, which appends her husband's surname in front of her own.
"Chinese propaganda guys really intentionally want to tell the people: [the] woman is not the woman [by] herself. It's BoGu Kailai. It's Bo Xilai's wife," said Anti. "It's not targeting the woman, it's not like the evil woman destroyed a good man. It's that the man, himself, is evil."
Anti agrees that the scandal is indicative of a high-level power struggle. He compares the latest events in Chongqing to a serialized TV drama that he says was written and directed by China's central leaders, whom he adds are the only ones who know the real story.
nrj
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After Bo Xilai's Wife Was Arrested Yesterday, Thousands Of People Rioted In Chongqing
BEIJING (AP) — Order was being restored Wednesday after thousands of people clashed with police in a district of Chongqing that is struggling economically, a local official said.
The incident began at the same time late Tuesday when state media announced the purge of Bo Xilai, former party chief of the mega-industrial city, from the party's ruling circle, and the arrest of his wife, Gu Kailai, who is suspected of involvement in a murder case.
The Chongqing official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said there was no connection between the two events. But the incident reflects the challenges local governments face as three decades of rapid economic expansion have left uneven growth.
The official said Wansheng district, where the clashes happened, is running out of mining resources and trying to modernize its economy. But its economic problems become more pronounced after it was merged into neighboring Qijiang county earlier this year, said the official, who like many Chinese officials did not want to give his name.
The official said after the merger "the economy in Wansheng was affected and residents have become upset." The merged region has more than 1 million people.
One witness from Wansheng, Liu Wei, said businesses and schools were closed Wednesday in the area. Liu said Wansheng residents were unhappy because some benefits, such as pensions and some teacher salaries, were reduced after the merger.
On Wednesday, the Chongqing government posted a statement on its website saying the city would safeguard pensions and medical benefits for Wansheng residents. It also said Wansheng would enjoy the same favorable policies as it did before the merger.
The names of Wansheng, Qijiang and Chongqing were blocked Wednesday on popular microblog sites, but some bloggers were able to upload photos reportedly taken from Wansheng that showed streets full of thousands of protesters and swarms of riot police, plus images of some people with blood-covered faces.
A banner in one photo read: "I want to eat. Return Wansheng district to me."
Read more: After Bo Xilai's Wife Was Arrested Yesterday, Thousands Of People Rioted In Chongqing - Business Insider
BEIJING (AP) — Order was being restored Wednesday after thousands of people clashed with police in a district of Chongqing that is struggling economically, a local official said.
The incident began at the same time late Tuesday when state media announced the purge of Bo Xilai, former party chief of the mega-industrial city, from the party's ruling circle, and the arrest of his wife, Gu Kailai, who is suspected of involvement in a murder case.
The Chongqing official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said there was no connection between the two events. But the incident reflects the challenges local governments face as three decades of rapid economic expansion have left uneven growth.
The official said Wansheng district, where the clashes happened, is running out of mining resources and trying to modernize its economy. But its economic problems become more pronounced after it was merged into neighboring Qijiang county earlier this year, said the official, who like many Chinese officials did not want to give his name.
The official said after the merger "the economy in Wansheng was affected and residents have become upset." The merged region has more than 1 million people.
One witness from Wansheng, Liu Wei, said businesses and schools were closed Wednesday in the area. Liu said Wansheng residents were unhappy because some benefits, such as pensions and some teacher salaries, were reduced after the merger.
On Wednesday, the Chongqing government posted a statement on its website saying the city would safeguard pensions and medical benefits for Wansheng residents. It also said Wansheng would enjoy the same favorable policies as it did before the merger.
The names of Wansheng, Qijiang and Chongqing were blocked Wednesday on popular microblog sites, but some bloggers were able to upload photos reportedly taken from Wansheng that showed streets full of thousands of protesters and swarms of riot police, plus images of some people with blood-covered faces.
A banner in one photo read: "I want to eat. Return Wansheng district to me."
Read more: After Bo Xilai's Wife Was Arrested Yesterday, Thousands Of People Rioted In Chongqing - Business Insider
GromHellscream
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NO, for such a high-rank political leader, he will be treated as kindly as enjoying his endless vocation in remote cottages
without any relations towards out-side world.
without any relations towards out-side world.
Last edited:
no smoking
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no smoking
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No, he is not trying to challenge the things. He is doing a show which makes him looks like a reformer. If you have a close check on his career, you will find that his so called archievements were political showcase rather than real progress.
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LurkerBaba
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Chinese Communist Party Expells Bo Xilai
BEIJING — Chinese state media are reporting that Bo Xilai, once one of China's rising political stars, has been expelled from the Communist Party and that he will also face criminal charges.
After months of anticipation and on the eve of a week long national holiday in China, state media are reporting that the Chinese Communist Party has not only expelled Bo Xilai, but released a list of allegations against him including abuse of power, bribe taking and other crimes.
A report from Xinhua news agency says a party investigation of Bo revealed serious violations in several local postings he previously held as well as during his tenure with China's Ministry of Commerce. It also listed violations during the time he served as the party's top leader in the southern metropolis of Chongqing.
"‹"‹The report says that Bo used his post for his own personal gain and his family to funnel in bribes from others. The allegations stretch back more than a decade and up to the point that he was removed from his post in Chongqing earlier this year.
--
Timeline of the Bo Xilai Scandal
February 2: Bo's key ally and Chongqing police chief Wang Lijun is demoted.
February 6: Wang visits U.S. consulate in Chengdu, reportedly to seek asylum.
March 2: Xinhua says Wang is under investigation.
March 9: Bo defends himself and his wife, Gu Kailai, at a press conference at the National People's Congress.
March 15: Bo dismissed as Chongqing party chief.
March 26: Britain asks China to investigate November death of Briton Neil Heywood in Chongqing.
April 10: Bo suspended from Communist Party posts. China says his wife is being investigated for Heywood's death.
April 17: New York Times reports U.S. officials held Wang so he could be handed to Beijing authorities instead of local police.
July 26: Gu charged with Heywood's murder.
August 20: Gu given suspended death sentence after confessing to Heywood's murder.
September 18: Two day trial of Wang for defection and abuse of power ends without him contesting the charges.
September 28: Communist Party expels Bo.
---
Chinese Communist Party Expells Bo Xilai
BEIJING — Chinese state media are reporting that Bo Xilai, once one of China's rising political stars, has been expelled from the Communist Party and that he will also face criminal charges.
After months of anticipation and on the eve of a week long national holiday in China, state media are reporting that the Chinese Communist Party has not only expelled Bo Xilai, but released a list of allegations against him including abuse of power, bribe taking and other crimes.
A report from Xinhua news agency says a party investigation of Bo revealed serious violations in several local postings he previously held as well as during his tenure with China's Ministry of Commerce. It also listed violations during the time he served as the party's top leader in the southern metropolis of Chongqing.
"‹"‹The report says that Bo used his post for his own personal gain and his family to funnel in bribes from others. The allegations stretch back more than a decade and up to the point that he was removed from his post in Chongqing earlier this year.
--
Timeline of the Bo Xilai Scandal
February 2: Bo's key ally and Chongqing police chief Wang Lijun is demoted.
February 6: Wang visits U.S. consulate in Chengdu, reportedly to seek asylum.
March 2: Xinhua says Wang is under investigation.
March 9: Bo defends himself and his wife, Gu Kailai, at a press conference at the National People's Congress.
March 15: Bo dismissed as Chongqing party chief.
March 26: Britain asks China to investigate November death of Briton Neil Heywood in Chongqing.
April 10: Bo suspended from Communist Party posts. China says his wife is being investigated for Heywood's death.
April 17: New York Times reports U.S. officials held Wang so he could be handed to Beijing authorities instead of local police.
July 26: Gu charged with Heywood's murder.
August 20: Gu given suspended death sentence after confessing to Heywood's murder.
September 18: Two day trial of Wang for defection and abuse of power ends without him contesting the charges.
September 28: Communist Party expels Bo.
---
Chinese Communist Party Expells Bo Xilai
huaxia rox
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i remember a line in a movie......what is the most important thing in politics??in 3 words...
the answer is: dont get caught......
actually i guess every member in cpc as officer and politician can be sent to jail if an anti-corruption probe is gonna go to any lenghts against who might be corrupt.....
bo is surely not the only one and he indeed has done a range of good things to people however he got caught.........
the answer is: dont get caught......
actually i guess every member in cpc as officer and politician can be sent to jail if an anti-corruption probe is gonna go to any lenghts against who might be corrupt.....
bo is surely not the only one and he indeed has done a range of good things to people however he got caught.........
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China beats India again, this time in corruption
Angered by crony capitalism in India and the power of the top 1% in the West, some analysts favour the so-called Beijing Consensus, or China's model. Sorry, but China has as much cronyism as other countries.
A recent study in Financial Times shows that relatives galore of Chinese politicians have become millionaires. The "princelings", as children of top Chinese politicians are called, have riches that dwarf comparable Indian princelings.
Wen Yunsong, nicknamed Winston, is the son of Prime Minister Wen Jiabao. His China Satellite Communications aims to become Asia's largest satellite operator by 2015, with 15 satellites and annual revenues of $ 2.5 billion.
Educated in the US-like most princelings-the young man established his first company, New Horizon Capital, in the Cayman Islands, a tax haven. It raised over $ 2.5 billion from global giants like Deutsche Bank, JP MorganChase and UBS. Would this be possible for any young Chinese entrepreneur unrelated to a politician? Not a chance.
"Winston blatantly uses his political background to get deals. If Winston is bidding for a deal, we wouldn't even try - we try to avoid competing with the big princelings." So says a top foreign investor.
The prime minister's wife, Zhang Beili, controls vast operations in jewellery and property. The Financial Times cites a Wikileaks document as saying the lady and her children "get things done for the right price".
The relatives of Chinese President Hu Jintao are powerful to o. His son, Hu Haifeng, was once president of state-owned Nutech which makes security scanners. After he took over, the company was granted a virtual monopoly in this market. In 2008 he moved up into Tsinghua Holdings, which controls 20 companies including Nutech.
His sister is married to Daniel Mao. This young man once headed Sina.com, one of China's largest web portals. His personal wealth was estimated in 2003 at $ 35-60 million.
An earlier Chinese President, Jiang Zemin, has spawned millionaires too. In 2000, his son Jiang Mianheng founded Grace Semiconductor, one of China's first microchip companies, partnering the son of Taiwan's top tycoon. Today he heads Shanghai Alliance Investment, an investment fund with stakes in major Chinese companies.
Jiang Zemin's grandson, Jiang Zhicheng, worked for Goldman Sachs in 2010. He now works at Boyu Capital Advisory.
Most princelings have fancy degrees from western universities. Many may be talented, but nobody believes that talent alone has explains their meteoric rise. Their family connections mattered hugely.
Top politicians claim they have no links with the businesses of relatives. But a veteran diplomat says "everything is controlled by a couple of hundred powerful families"¦.most foreign companies are trying to hire the sons and daughters of Chinese officials so they can get access and do business."
Multinationals often start joint ventures with the princelings, who typically hold their stakes through holding companies in Hong Kong or Caribbean tax havens. This helps hide business secrets.
Consulting fees are often paid abroad in Dubai or Hong Kong. Agreements are frequently written on red paper, because xeroxes or scans of red paper turn black and become unreadable. This limits leaks.
Princelings are no longer content with fat consultancy fees. "The big families want to get into private equity or do business themselves, because that's where the real money is."
When Deng Xiaoping launched China's pro-business reforms, he declared "to get rich is glorious." He meant productive businesses should be gloriously rich. But his party colleagues have found the ultimate glory in family enrichment. In the 1990, when the Chinese private sector skyrocketed, some top politicians tried to rein in their princelings. "But now there is almost no restraint," says a top official.
Indian politicians during the independence movement aimed for ideals, not money. But once in office, their relatives became influence peddlers. Today, people enter politics mainly to make money. The emergence of political dynasties should surprise nobody: they are business dynasties by another name.
In India too, the sons and relatives of politicians often boast foreign degrees, and claim to have high technocratic skills. Here too, corporations want to hire these relatives to gain political access and influence. But we have fewer cases of princelings becoming big businessmen.
The mere fact that China has corrupt princelings does not make India less corrupt. It is no excuse for slackening our own anti-corruption efforts. Yet i suspect that most readers will, like me, grin at the expose of the princelings. The Germans call it schadenfreude-finding pleasure in the travails of others. It's mortifying to be beaten by China in one field after another, but we can enjoy China's victory over us in corrupt princelings.
Swaminomics : SA Aiyar's blog-The Times Of India
***********
Just as an aide memoire before the usual tangential claptrap from abroad takes over.
Angered by crony capitalism in India and the power of the top 1% in the West, some analysts favour the so-called Beijing Consensus, or China's model. Sorry, but China has as much cronyism as other countries.
A recent study in Financial Times shows that relatives galore of Chinese politicians have become millionaires. The "princelings", as children of top Chinese politicians are called, have riches that dwarf comparable Indian princelings.
Wen Yunsong, nicknamed Winston, is the son of Prime Minister Wen Jiabao. His China Satellite Communications aims to become Asia's largest satellite operator by 2015, with 15 satellites and annual revenues of $ 2.5 billion.
Educated in the US-like most princelings-the young man established his first company, New Horizon Capital, in the Cayman Islands, a tax haven. It raised over $ 2.5 billion from global giants like Deutsche Bank, JP MorganChase and UBS. Would this be possible for any young Chinese entrepreneur unrelated to a politician? Not a chance.
"Winston blatantly uses his political background to get deals. If Winston is bidding for a deal, we wouldn't even try - we try to avoid competing with the big princelings." So says a top foreign investor.
The prime minister's wife, Zhang Beili, controls vast operations in jewellery and property. The Financial Times cites a Wikileaks document as saying the lady and her children "get things done for the right price".
The relatives of Chinese President Hu Jintao are powerful to o. His son, Hu Haifeng, was once president of state-owned Nutech which makes security scanners. After he took over, the company was granted a virtual monopoly in this market. In 2008 he moved up into Tsinghua Holdings, which controls 20 companies including Nutech.
His sister is married to Daniel Mao. This young man once headed Sina.com, one of China's largest web portals. His personal wealth was estimated in 2003 at $ 35-60 million.
An earlier Chinese President, Jiang Zemin, has spawned millionaires too. In 2000, his son Jiang Mianheng founded Grace Semiconductor, one of China's first microchip companies, partnering the son of Taiwan's top tycoon. Today he heads Shanghai Alliance Investment, an investment fund with stakes in major Chinese companies.
Jiang Zemin's grandson, Jiang Zhicheng, worked for Goldman Sachs in 2010. He now works at Boyu Capital Advisory.
Most princelings have fancy degrees from western universities. Many may be talented, but nobody believes that talent alone has explains their meteoric rise. Their family connections mattered hugely.
Top politicians claim they have no links with the businesses of relatives. But a veteran diplomat says "everything is controlled by a couple of hundred powerful families"¦.most foreign companies are trying to hire the sons and daughters of Chinese officials so they can get access and do business."
Multinationals often start joint ventures with the princelings, who typically hold their stakes through holding companies in Hong Kong or Caribbean tax havens. This helps hide business secrets.
Consulting fees are often paid abroad in Dubai or Hong Kong. Agreements are frequently written on red paper, because xeroxes or scans of red paper turn black and become unreadable. This limits leaks.
Princelings are no longer content with fat consultancy fees. "The big families want to get into private equity or do business themselves, because that's where the real money is."
When Deng Xiaoping launched China's pro-business reforms, he declared "to get rich is glorious." He meant productive businesses should be gloriously rich. But his party colleagues have found the ultimate glory in family enrichment. In the 1990, when the Chinese private sector skyrocketed, some top politicians tried to rein in their princelings. "But now there is almost no restraint," says a top official.
Indian politicians during the independence movement aimed for ideals, not money. But once in office, their relatives became influence peddlers. Today, people enter politics mainly to make money. The emergence of political dynasties should surprise nobody: they are business dynasties by another name.
In India too, the sons and relatives of politicians often boast foreign degrees, and claim to have high technocratic skills. Here too, corporations want to hire these relatives to gain political access and influence. But we have fewer cases of princelings becoming big businessmen.
The mere fact that China has corrupt princelings does not make India less corrupt. It is no excuse for slackening our own anti-corruption efforts. Yet i suspect that most readers will, like me, grin at the expose of the princelings. The Germans call it schadenfreude-finding pleasure in the travails of others. It's mortifying to be beaten by China in one field after another, but we can enjoy China's victory over us in corrupt princelings.
Swaminomics : SA Aiyar's blog-The Times Of India
***********
Just as an aide memoire before the usual tangential claptrap from abroad takes over.
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I think it was not that Mr. Bo was "caught," it is doubtful that his shinanigans are unknown to the authorities in China considering that it is a still a tightly monitored society, his fall is more because his rival to the No. 1 position turned out to be more powerful than he is.
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I think, though I maybe wrong, the CPC cannot take very serious action against Bo, since he has a very large following.
It could cause social instability and the CPC is very sensitive to anything happening that can cause problems to stability and harmony!
It could cause social instability and the CPC is very sensitive to anything happening that can cause problems to stability and harmony!
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It is unfortunate that a son of a Revolutionary leader of China has been implicated because he was becoming too popular and was trying to do something positive for the poor, apart from showcasing the new China with his hard work, even though it may not have been totally above board.
But then all top political leaders of China are prone to crony capitalism and feathering their own nest, as I had appended the misdeeds of these top chaps in a thread.
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I expect nothing.
I was going by what the free media is speculating.
COMMUNIST PARTY ELITE IN CHINA
Elite party members welcoming
the new Standing Committee in 2007 The Communist Party elite is made up of high-level officials, graduates of the party school, princelings (See Below), and friends and employees of the party powerful. According to the Economist, "Communist Party officials function as China's ruling class. They are a self-selected group accountable to nobody. They oversee government and industry, courts and parliaments...elections are allowed for 'people's congresses'—so long as the party does not object to the contestants...A party committee keeps watch within every institution of government at every level. The system was copied from the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, but expanded in translation."
Senior cadres remain overwhelmingly male, but there is now a compulsory retirement age and even (very low) quotas for women.
In the 1990s and many senior members of the Communist party were in their seventies and eighties and often had to be nudged by their bodyguards to stay awake during meetings. Many were trained in the Soviet Union. Over time, hard liners and old timers have become a smaller and smaller minority. These days the Communist Party seems to be run by colorless bureaucrats of which Hu Jintao is the best example.
Most the highest ranking officials in the Communist Party live in Zhongnanhai, a compound built between the 10th and 13th centuries as an imperial playground and now acts as sort of modern Forbidden City. Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai and Deng Xiaoping all lived here and the main offices for the Central Committee and the Politburo are all here too. See Cities, Places.
China's Central Party School
Central Party School trains all mid-ranking and senior officials and develops theory. Students say the school day begins at 6:00 am with physical exercise and included seminars and classes before evening lectures on subjects ranging from international economics to Taoism and calligraphy. [Source: Tania Branigan, The Guardian, June 30, 2010]
Journalists were shown simple bedrooms with computers, televisions and a small selection of books including the collected works of Mao Zedong. Despite the heavy stress on communist theory, students also study how other governments handle issues. The Eurozone crisis was added to the curriculum.
Officials rejected claims that cadres use the school to "meet people, make acquaintances, have a good meal and have a good rest". Li Jingtian, one of the institute's vice-presidents, told The Guardian that while the school was not immune from unhealthy social trends, 'we want to serve as a purifier to cleanse our students' minds and souls.'
Beidaihe
During the summer, the party elite have traditionally headed to the seaside resort of Beidaihe, on China's Gold Coast on the Gulf of Bohai,. Beidaihe used to be where Communist Party officials engage in intense infighting and maneuvering while hidden in secluded villas. It was here that many important party conclaves were held and some fateful decisions to 'stay or go' for political supremos in Chinese communist hierarchy were made before announcing them to the public from the formal party halls in Beijing. [Source: Antoaneta Bezlova, Asia Times, September 15, 2009]
Beidaihe is no longer the summer capital of China's political intrigue. The once heavily guarded beaches are occupied by Russian tourists and the media no longer pays much attention to what is going there. Its status as a top leadership retreat has been downgraded by party chief Hu Jintao, who has promoted a more egalitarian approach and wants to nurture the party's populist image.
In August, when state leaders still visit, if not for secret party meetings then for some relaxation, the streets are lined with police who occasionally stop cars and demand identification. "The security reminds me of the old days in the USSR, Russian tourist Yuri Gregoriev told the Asian Times while relaxing on a chaise-lounge on the beach. 'But Idon't mind it at all. We all come from different parts of Russia's far east, and to get to any other beach with similarly good weather and warm sea, we would have to travel a long time."
Beidaihe, See Places
Communist Party Politics
Economic policy for the coming year is often decided at the planing meeting of top Communist Party and Cabinet officials held in December. The agenda for the meeting is often worked out by the Cabinet's National Development and Reform Commission.
Party membership has traditionally been very selective. These day many urban people see few advantages with joining but in rural areas party members are often still regaled as the elite and membership can protect individual interests or provide opportunities that otherwise would be impossible.
On deciding health care policy, Gordon G. Liu, of Beijing University's Guanghua School of Management told the Washington Post: "It's very interesting to see politics in China. Sometimes they are very old-fashion and sometimes so liberal, even more than in the U.S. Thus it said 'since you guys are debating, lets do an experiment and see which way works better.' I tell my colleagues that what you're doing is very consistent with your 'scientific development philosophy' rather than being like a dictator telling us what to do like in the past."
Jonathan Watts wrote in The Guardian, Internal party debates are carried out behind closed doors, but there has long been a divide between those like Jiang on the "right" who favour more deregulation, opening and market reform and those on the "new left" who favour a more interventionist, egalitarian and authoritarian approach. Hu was seen as being closer to the former when he took power in 2002, but he has spent much of his time as state president and party secretary straddling the two camps. [Source: Jonathan Watts, The Guardian July 1, 2011]
Princelings in China
"Princelings" (taiza) are children or other relatives of Chinese leaders and high-ranking officials who have prospered through their connections. Depending on how you define a high ranking official, there are anywhere from 5,000 to 100,000 princelings in China and they range in age from recent Peking University graduates to former Prime Minister Li Peng, the son of revolutionary leader who was adopted by Mao.
Children of Jiang Zemin, Zhu Rongli and Li Peng all became princelings. Jiang's son, Jiang Mianheng, was vice president of the Academy of Sciences and an important player in Shanghai's telecom and semiconductor industries. Zhu's son, Levon Zhu Yunlai, was the head of China International Capital Corp, a company n which Morgan Stanley had a stake. Li Peng's son Li Xiaoping was the head of Huaneng Power International Inc. and now is vice governor of Shanxi, one of China's major coal-producing provinces. Li Peng's daughter, Li Xiaolin, was vice president of China Power Investment Corp. and now runs a major subsidy of China Power.
Describing an evening with a princeling in Quingdao in the mid 1990s, one writer in the Lonely Planet Guide to China wrote: "he shuffled me round to a few dreary tour spots, offered me a place to stay for the night and took me to dinner with his girlfriend. He was, I guess trying to impress her with his broken English—he certainly impressed her with the price of the meal. I stayed the night in his spacious apartment, finding out how cadre's sons live—high! They have enough money, or access to it, to create a generation gap between themselves and their parents."
Perhaps the greatest princeling of them all is Larry Yung, son of Chinese Vice President Rong Yiren. As general manager of Hong Kong-based conglomerate he has amassed a $2 billion fortune that included thoroughbred race horses, a Hong Kong penthouse, a mansion in Vancouver and an 800-acre estate in Britain. Life has not always been easy for Yung, however. During the Cultural Revolution he spent eight years doing hard labor in a remote area in southwest China.
Red Princesses
"Red princesses" is a term used to describe the offspring of Communist leaders who are now members of high society. They include Jasmain Li, the granddaughter of Communist Party No.2 Jia Qinglin, who made debute at a debutante ball in Paris attended Princess Diana's niece and the daughter of casino tycoon Stanley Ho; and Chen, Xiaodan, the granddaughter of Chen Yun, a founding father of Communist China, who came out at ball attended by princesses from Italy and Belgium.
Among those who have made a splash in the fashion world are Ye Mingzi, granddaughter of Red Army general, Ye Jiangying, a designer in Paris who attended St. Martins in London and worked with Issey Miyake in Japan; and Wan Baibai, granddaughter of former legislature chairman Wan Li, who is regular at fashion parties and has her own line of jewelry.
Among those that are well known in China are "China Power Queen" Li Xiaolin, the only daughter of former Chinese Premier Li Peng; and the "Charity Princess" Deng Zuoyue, the Wellesley-educated granddaughter of Deng Xiaoping, who has hosted balls to raise money for Sichuan earthquake victims and deaf-mute children among other causes.
Princeling Power in China
"Generally...modern China belongs to the children of the revolution. All three officers appointed last year to the rank of full general in the People's Liberation Army were children of senior party leaders, "John Garnaut wrote in the Sydney Morning Herald. " Xi Jinping, who many expect to be the next president, is the son of a revolutionary hero. Eight or nine of the 25-member Politburo are princelings (defined as having a parent or parent in-law who held the rank of vice-minister or above), according to Cheng Li, an expert on Chinese elite politics at the Brookings Institutution. In the previous Politburo there were only three. [Source: John Garnaut, Sydney Morning Herald, February 13, 2010]
"The strategic heights of China's economy are also in princeling hands. The family of former president Jiang Zemin - whose adopted father was a revolutionary martyr - pulls strings in the telecommunications, railways and postal systems. The family of former premier Li Peng - who was adopted by former premier Zhou Enlai - has outsized influence over electricity production, transmission and hydro-electric dam building. His daughter Li Xiaolin, who became famous in Australia this week for her disagreement with Clive Palmer over a $60 billion deal, is at the helm of a major power generating company. Her brother headed another large electricity company before being transferred to help run the coal-powered province of Shanxi. Family friend Liu Zhenya controls the electricity grid. " [Ibid]
"Distinctions between state and personal enterprise are not always clear in China. Some of the most eminent princeling families discreetly control large companies that are listed on the Hong Kong stock exchange, sometimes in concert with Hong Kong's mega-billionaire families, and often through loyal personal secretaries or close relatives who have changed their names." [Ibid]
"Further in the background, Chinese political analysts say the descendants of Marshall Ye Jianying, Deng Xiaoping, Chen Yun, Wang Zhen, Peng Zhen and Bo Yibo are China's real political and financial king makers." [Ibid]
China's Princeling System
"The Communist Party has enjoyed enormous success in turning China into a powerful nation and lifting its citizens out of poverty, "John Garnaut wrote in the Sydney Morning Herald. "But the party is also a club that allocates political, financial and social privilege to its members. It has its own internal system of hierarchy and quasi-royalty, where revolutionary leaders bequeath their status to their children and children's children. Those descendants are called 'princelings' in China. [Source: John Garnaut, Sydney Morning Herald, February 13, 2010]
"Mostly, China's princelings get on with expanding the national cake and carving it up. Maoist leader Bo Yibo is said to have helped institutionalize the princeling nexus of power and wealth in the 1990s by supporting a proposal that each powerful family can have only one princeling in politics, leaving other siblings to cash their political inheritances for financial ones. " [Ibid]
"Things are not always between princelings and their battles are sometimes cloaked in complicated webs and layers that are difficult for outsiders to make sense of. . Bo Xilai and Fu Yang, the sons of Bo Yibo and Peng Zhen, two Mao era heavyweights that were members of the Eight Immortals, for example, have battled one another through proxy lawyers in Chongqing in a complicated case there involving organized crime. " [Ibid]
" Privately, close political observers in China say that whatever you think of Bo Xilai or his personal motivations, he has thrown a bomb inside Party Central. His public dissection of Chongqing's power and protection rackets invites Chinese people to worry and talk more openly about whether their country is evolving towards some kind of mafia state." [Ibid]
"Some liberal thinkers hope Bo is a catalyst for those in the system who are not beholden to 'princelings' - perhaps the Vice-Premier, Li Keqiang - to rise and challenge the party's privileges. But the party's princeling bonds will be hard to break. To the extent that they stick together they will loosen their grip on power only when necessary to preserve it." [Ibid]
Privileged Youths Above the Law
Peh Shing Huei, Strait Times, the Chinese public is increasingly becoming angry with a "clan of young Chinese are rich, arrogant and seemingly above the law because their parents are powerful and wealthy local officials." In late 2010 public anger reached the boiling point towards this privileged group over several brutal incidents, mostly callous car accidents, that received widespread attention on the Internet. "These privileged young people have come to embody the qualities that ordinary Chinese hate about the authorities - corrupt, violent and lawless." [Source: Peh Shing Huei, Strait Times, December 9, 2010]
Experts believe that if the trend is left unchecked, it may lead to large-scale social unrest. "With more and more of these guan er dai abusing their power, the people would have less faith in the ruling party, seeing it as a feudal organization,"' anti-graft analyst Lin Zhe from the Central Party School told the Strait Times. "It would be a threat to social stability... Such things build up bit by bit, before exploding. Once the people revolt, it will be too late." [Ibid]
"Unhappiness with abuse of power by these "guan er dai" has boiled over in the past. Corruption by so-called 'princelings', children of top Chinese Communist Party leaders, was a key factor which led to the Tiananmen protests in 1989. 'The officials today are even greedier than the old cadres of the 1980s,' said Professor Lin. 'They want money, sex, government positions, academic titles, you name it. And not only do they plunder for themselves, they do it for their sons and daughters too.'" [Ibid]
" Indeed, guan er dai are also believed to get plum government jobs because of their parents' connections," Peh Shing Huei wrote. "In Pingnan county, southern Fujian province, for example, the employment requirements for a finance department position were so specific and detailed that only one applicant fulfilled them last month. She was the county party secretary's daughter. And in north-west Ningxia region, the son of two officials edged out 487 applicants for a civil service job despite allegedly not having completed his examination papers during the entrance exam." [Ibid]
Law professor Zhang Min from Renmin University told the Strait Times that if most people believe officialdom is beyond their reach and is reserved for only the children of officials, the people's hatred of officials would intensify. 'Such hatred would coalesce into a frightening force,' he wrote on the People's Daily website. 'And history tells us that once such a force has been formed, there is little chance of peace in the world.' [Ibid]
My Dad is Li Gang
The most infamous involved the son of a senior police official in northern Hebei province who, when caught fleeing a fatal car accident in October, shouted: 'My dad is Li Gang!' His words went viral on the Internet and have become the country's newest catchphrase, used in jokes, poems and even art installations. [Source: Peh Shing Huei, Strait Times, December 9, 2010]
China Hush reported: "In the evening on October 16, 2010, due to drunk driving and speeding, a black Volkswagen Magotan hit two female student pedestrians wearing roller shoes in front of a supermarket at Hebei University. The incident caused one death and one injured. After the incident, like nothing had happened, the driver continued to drive his girlfriend to school. He was then later stopped by number of students and school security guards on his way back. Surprisingly, the young man showed little remorse and fear, he shouted, "Go ahead, sue me if you dare, my dad is Li Gang". The report of this incident immediately caused uproar in China's online community." [Source: China Hush, October 12, 2010]
"The incident caused widespread concerns of the netizens. Internet users expressed their anger towards the perpetrator on web. Posts condemning the perpetrator were seen everywhere. Netizens unmasked the perpetrator as Li Yifan. One pasting read: "name used in the past: Li Qiming, currently attending Hebei Institute of Media class of 2008, majoring in radio host." The human flesh search report also listed all the schools he had attended since 1988) Home phone number: 13730287 ***. Netizens also confirmed that Li Gang is Bei District, Baoding City Public Security Bureau deputy director of criminal investigation." [Ibid]
"Many netizens flooded his QQ space where you can find the angriest comments towards him and the unjust and irrational situation. People also posted his childhood photos: Authority is now scrambling with the investigation; according to GZdaily now there are almost no witness stepping forward for the investigation, where are they?; Questions are also raised about why emphasizing victims wearing roller shoes, as if they are trying to blame part of the fault for these shoes? And netizen also pointed out on one of the released photos where you can see the victim's shoe was just a normal shoe"¦Let's see how this incident unfolds."" [Ibid]
Changchun Incident
Peh Shing Huei, Strait Times, "A young man bumped his red Mazda 6 into an elderly woman, got out to scold her and then decided to inflict more pain by beating her up as well. 'I can even kill you. I have money. I would rather kill you and compensate you for it,' he shouted at the hapless woman. [Source: Peh Shing Huei, Strait Times, December 9, 2010]
Thousands of onlookers in north-eastern Changchun city quickly surrounded Mr Jiang Xiaozhu, according to local media, and ransacked his car before he was rescued by the police. An online background search for Mr Jiang, nicknamed 'police uniform man' because of what he was wearing, was quickly launched by netizens, whom the Chinese refer to as 'human flesh search engine'.
It revealed the 27-year-old to be a son of a local government official. His father is believed to be a county official and his father-in-law belongs to the same county's security forces. Mr Jiang, an employee in a state tobacco firm, is what the Chinese refer derogatorily to as guan er dai, or the offspring of officials.
According to China Hush, "Essentially, what happened is that a police officer driving his own car got angry with an old woman who wouldn't get out of his way. He eventually got out of the car, argued with the old woman, and then started to beat her, grabbing her by the hair and punching her in the face, according to an interview she gave that's excerpted at the end of the video. The old woman's daughter came over and he hit her, too. That was when passers-by started to gather, and they were not amused. [Source: C. Custer, ChinaGeeks, April 16, 2011]
On a video of the released on the web picks up the action at this point. At the 1:00 mark, the narrator says "Rationally, everyone [jumped in] to prevent the [police]man's crude behavior." Then the video cuts abruptly to a shot of a mob going absolutely apeshit on the police officer's car (which he, by that point, was wisely hiding inside). Even after police arrived, they kept smashing the car, and began chanting "Apologize, apologize!" Several scuffles with police occurred. Hours later, after police unsuccessfully tried to get the mob to disperse, the police finally got the man out of his car and into a waiting police van (2:19, note the people in the background still fighting to break through the police lines and attack him)." [Ibid]
C. Custer wrote on ChinaGeeks: "Of course, there's more to this than privileged versus commoner (he was also beating an elderly woman, which wouldn't win him many friends regardless of the prevailing mood of the time in any society). But the old woman he beat puts it in terms of haves and have-nots, and apparently so did the policeman. She also said he looked down on thelaobaixing, the common people. What's most telling about this video is not the comments, which call for the offending officer's head on a platter, and many of which also condemn police officers and public servants in general for their increasing lack of concern for the common people. No, what's most interesting about this video is that it's from early December 2010, but it's still being passed around on Chinese social networks today."
" This is, of course, an isolated incident. But this kind of thing happens a lot, and moreover, it obviously speaks to deeper issues. Unsurprisingly, it spread quickly across the internet, and has been reposted many times already. This posting on 56.com These stories keep getting passed around beyond their news shelf life, I suspect, because they are tapping into an increasingly common feeling of anger and exploitation among those who really are laobaixing. The story may be from December, but the feeling is as widespread today as it was then, probably more so. Are people about to take to the streets and launch a second Communist revolution to overthrow the new bourgeoisie? Absolutely not. But instead of harassing innocent dissidents and their lawyers, China's leadership would do well to pay more attention to these issues.
"Friend" of Senior Leaders Gets 15 Years for Fraud
Huang Jingjing wrote in the Global Times, "Shi Dongbing, the author of a number of books about Chinese politics and who claimed to have close connections with the country's senior leaders, was sentenced Sunday by a court of first instance to 15 years' imprisonment for fraud. According to the Beijing No. 2 Intermediate People's Court, Shi fabricated stories of having personal relations with top Chinese leaders and some local officials, and claimed that through those "connections," he could help others gain promotion, approval for projects and even discount prices on cars." [Source: Huang Jingjing, Global Times, April 26, 2011]
"Shi defrauded eight victims of 3.44 million yuan ($528,750) between 2004 and 2006, the verdict said. The victims included Zhou Wuxuan, former deputy director of the North China Regional Administration of the Civil Aviation Administration of China, Li Dequan, former party secretary of the land development center with the Shenzhen Land and Resources Commission, and Liu Jianmin, former deputy head of the Bank of Beijing, according to a report in Caijing magazine." [Ibid]
"Shi has faced criticism from the children of nine former Chinese leaders, who denied having close relations with Shi and accused him of fabricating interviews with leaders in his books. The leaders include Hua Guofeng, a former chairman of the Communist Party of China (CPC), Hu Yaobang, a former general secretary of the CPC, and Ye Jianying, a former vice-chairman of the CPC, all now deceased. According to Shi's autobiography, which had been quoted in various media reports, he saved the wife of a Chinese leader during the Cultural Revolution (1966-76), and the woman later introduced him to many high-ranking officials. Shi claimed that he joined the Literary Association of Houma, Shanxi Province, in the 1980s and began to write books about China's top leaders. Due to their sensitive nature, many of his books were published in Hong Kong and pirated versions were circulated in the mainland." [Ibid]
According to the Southern Weekend newspaper, despite the difficulties inherent in verifying the contents of Shi's books, many officials and businessmen treated him as an honored guest. "We thought Shi had deep connections with the leadership. On the first day I met him, he said that he could help me get a promotion. But he never delivered on his promises," the paper quoted Zhou Wuxuan, who gave Shi an 850,000 yuan villa, as saying. [Ibid]
According to the court, Shi made about 2 million yuan by touting his connections with Xu Zongheng, a former mayor of Shenzhen, who was detained in 2009 for "serious disciplinary violations." According to media reports, Shi claimed that in response to Xu's request, he wrote recommendation letters to senior government officials to help Xu become mayor. After Xu's election, the two became "good friends." But Shi said they broke up after he discovered Xu's corrupt actions, and he spent five months in prison on fraud charges in 2006 under an arrest ordered by Xu. [Ibid]
Zhu Lijia, a professor of public administration at the Chinese Academy of Governance, told the Global Times that Shi's case exposed hidden rules in China's political circles. "The reason why so many officials were easily fooled by Shi is because they knew that connections to higher authorities are shortcuts to success and wealth," Zhu said. "Such fraud cases will never end until these hidden rules are eliminated and the system for electing officials becomes more transparent." [Ibid]
Shi was not the first one to prey on gullible officials in recent years. In 2005, Zhang Chen, a farmer from Heilongjiang Province, was sentenced to life imprisonment for defrauding over 8 million yuan from several officials by pretending to be a relative of a leader in the central government. Zhou Bihua, deputy head of the Writers' Association of the city of Changde, Hunan Province, wrote in his blog that the so-called victims of Shi's actions should also be brought to justice. "These people saw Shi's 'connections' as shortcuts to success. They gave Shi many rewards, but how could they afford them by relying only on their salaries? It is ironic that they were treated as victims in this case," Zhou said. [Ibid]
Image Sources: Wikimedia Commons
Text Sources: New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Times of London, Yomiuri Shimbun, The Guardian, National Geographic, The New Yorker, Time, Newsweek, Reuters, AP, Lonely Planet Guides, Compton's Encyclopedia and various books and other publications.
