China: Party Unveils Leadership
The communist Party in China has presented the
new team to direct its affairs in the next five years. The
changes were announced at the end of the party's five-yearly
congress.
The powerful nine-member Standing Committee was
elected by the party's 204-member Central Committee.
Who Are They?
President Hu Jintao won a second term as party
and army chief, while four new political entrants joined the
party's top body, the Politburo Standing Committee.
They included Shanghai party chief, Xi Jinping
and the head of Liaoning province, Li Keqiang. These two men are
seen as potential successors to Mr. Hu in Year 2012.
Premier Wen Jiabao was reappointed to the
committee, indicating another five-year term in office for him.
Both he and Mr. Hu are expected to have new terms approved when
parliament meets in March.
The party's organisation chief, He Guoqiang and
Zhou Yongkang, the minister for public security, were the other
two new additions to the committee.
The four new members replace three of the
country's most senior leaders - Vice-President Zeng Qinghong and
lawmakers Lout Gan and Wu Guanzheng - who are stepping down.
Likely Successors?
Announcing the changes, Mr. Hu told the press
that the new committee was "fully aware of our difficult tasks
and great responsibilities."
The new candidates appeared together in Beijing's
Great Hall of the People. The committee walked out onto the
stage in order of rank, with Xi Jinping at the head of the new
appointees.
A report says the Chinese Communist tradition
dictates that the first new face of the new generation becomes
the heir apparent. Effectively therefore, Xi Jinping can expect
to take over from Hu Jintao in year 2012.
Mr. Xi, the son of a high-ranked party elder, has
held top party positions in several provinces, most recently in
Shanghai after Chen Liangyu, was sacked for corruption.
BBC/YINKA
