Hu Administration Enters Second Term

The 17th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC), which will mark Hu Jintao’s second term as leader of the People`s Republic of China, will begin at 9:00 a.m. October 15 at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.

The opening ceremony will be attended by about 2,700 people, including general secretary Hu and 2215 delegates from the party congress, national leaders such as former president Jiang Zemin, high-ranking figures in and out of the party, and specially invited delegates.

This Congress will issue a report from Hu containing China’s policy direction for the next five years, and amend the CPC Constitution to further incorporate a ‘scientific outlook on development’ and ‘harmonious society,’ Hu’s reform pillars.

At the congress, the CPC will adopt a ‘scientific outlook on development’ as the new ideology of the party, and ‘harmonious society’ as the goal of its policies. In addition, strict disciplinary systems will also be embodied in the CPC Constitution for the prevention of corruption.

In particular, Hong Kong’s daily Ming Pao recently reported that the political slogan, “Let’s firmly unite with the center of the party with Comrade Hu at the core” will officially be adopted during this Congress. This slogan is a strengthened version of the idiomatic expression the party-run newspapers have been using: “Communist Party with Comrade Hu Jintao as general secretary.”

The National Congress will select 360 members and candidate-members of the 17th Central Committee on the last day and close on October 21.

In a following general conference of the 17th Central Committee to open on October 22, the general secretary of CPC’s Central Committee, members of Political Bureau, Standing Committee, Central Military Commission, the secretary of Secretariat of the Communist Party, and other party leaders who will lead China for the next five years will be selected.

The authority of Hu’s second term is expected to be centered on the Tuanpai (the Tuan faction of the Chinese Communist Youth League), the Shanghaibang, the leader of which is the former leader Jiang Zemin, and the Taizidang, led by Zeng Qinghong.

On October 14, the CPC held a conference to prepare for the 17th Congress and organize the first batch of attendants consisting of more than 230 delegates.

Ahead of the CPC congress, the seventh general conference of the 16th Central Committee passed Hu’s report, an amendment bill to the CPC Constitution, and a bill to dismiss the former secretary of Shanghai party Chen Liangyu.

Meanwhile, eight people of Korean ethnicity, including the secretary and vice president of the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce Jeon Cheol-su, and 234 figures from other ethnic minorities were invited as delegates to this Congress. By percentage, they make up 10.9 percent of the whole, which is higher than the percentage of ethnic minorities in the Chinese population (8.4 percent). 445 female delegates will be in attendance, 63 more than the number at the 16th Congress, accounting for 20.1 percent of the total number of delegates.

orionha@donga.com