CONSERVATIVES IN CHINA

THE CHINA SYNDROME:  CONSERVATIVES TO THE FORE

Saibal Dasgupta

The Times of India, November 9, 2012

BEIJING: A cursory look at the names of the likely candidates for top positions in the Communist Party's Politburo standing committee suggests it's going to be packed with conservatives. There's also speculation that the size of the committee, which governs the country, would be reduced from nine to seven.

With vice president Xi Jinping elevated as party general secretary, he is on course to replace PresidentHu Jintao. Vice premier Li Keqiang replacing premier Wen Jiabao is a foregone conclusion. But a conservative standing committee is bound to inhibit Xi's plans for greater liberalization, sources said.

Reports seeping out of the party's closed interiors indicate that two of President Hu's supporters, earlier considered for the committee, have been axed. They are Wang Yang, the party boss of Guangdong province, regarded as a liberal towards political dissent, and Li Yuanchao, director of the party's organization department.

The first time Xi signaled his rising clout and showed signs of independent thinking was at a party event in 2008. He said the CPC had matured from a party of revolution into one which "holds the power to rule the country in the long term". He called on all party members to adapt themselves to this fundamental change.

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