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Nails that stick up will be hammered down (December 5 2012) Nails that stick up will be hammered down (December 5 2012)

Ian Bremmer the 43 year old American political scientist specializing in US foreign policy and global political risk has published an article on Reuters titled ‘What do we know about China’s new leadership?’. Bremmer states “As China obsessives know, it is tough to read tea leaves when the water is as opaque as that surrounding China’s Politburo. In the wake of the Chinese leadership transition, we’re left to sift through the news in search of answers. There is plenty we do not know about the process or what its outcome will bring, but when it comes to underlying themes we can understand, it is possible to make some predictions. Start with solidarity. In the most telling example of Chinese political unity, the Politburo, the elite political body that makes all of China’s major decisions, went from nine people to seven to consolidate control of the political process. The Communist Party is now more unified than before and is less likely to tolerate dissent from within. The stability of the Communist Party is paramount. All else will fall in line. Note what happens to those who don’t. If the Bo Xilai incident demonstrated anything, it’s that, in China, nails that stick up will be hammered down. There is no room for leaders who stray from the party platform. Need more evidence that power is being consolidated? Hu Jintao recently surrendered his military position sooner than expected so Xi Jinping, the incoming president, could have more control. Li Keqiang, Xi’s incoming deputy, got the nod to run the economy rather than Wang Qishan   the most senior and noted market reformer of the lot. Three of five of the remaining standing committee members seem to be protégés of former President Jiang Zemin, a sign that the leadership is looking to past success as much as to the future.”

 

Inspired by Reuters ow.ly/fKe67 image source Stephen Voss ow.ly/fKe0D

 

Bo Xilai the 62 year old Chinese member on the Politburo of the Communist Party of China and Secretary of the Chongqing Committee has been relieved of his duties and reprimanded by Premier Wen Jiabao. Observers believe Bo’s downfall is a consequence of the Wang Lijun scandal, in which his Lieutenant Wang is speculated to have attempted to seek US political asylum with evidence of Bo’s criminal activities. An open letter claimed to have been written by Wang appeared in international Chinese-language websites, criticizing Bo and accusing him of corruption, referring to him as a “hypocrite” and “the greatest gangster in China”. Bo was expected to have been offered a position on the Standing Committee of the Politburo, a committee of nine people that effectively control the nation of which the majority are due for replacement. Bo’s decline is seen as a victory for the political right particularly among the reformers and advocates of private enterprise. His advocates on the left however reacted angrily on various websites claiming the dismissal a conspiracy by enemies of the state, resulting in many of the sites being shut down by authorities. Vice Prime Minister Zhang Dejiang is stepping into the secretary role at Chongqing.

 

Inspired by Andrew Jacobs http://ow.ly/9MIp7 image source http://ow.ly/9MIEC

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