China’s Leadership Transition

  Hong Kong Crisis

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  Jiang’s Retirement and Hu Era

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Contemporary China: A Book List and Websites about China and Southeast Asia (Prof. Lynn White, Princeton University) Categorized by subjects and has been updated. This list is long, but you can use the subject categories at the left of your screen to find items you need. Websites about China and Southeast Asia is a clickable list of websites, giving access to thousands of articles about China and Southeast Asia.

 ~ 2006 

China Lures Top Scholars Home By Bill Maxwell
(Washington Times, Dec. 27, 2008) To fulfill its dream of becoming an even more powerful world player, China had to reverse the brain drain that took its best and brightest to the West.

China Frees a Journalist It Accused of Spying
(New York Times, Feb. 6, 2008) China has freed a Hong Kong journalist jailed on charges of spying for Taiwan, the Hong Kong city government said, after an international campaign calling for his release.

Politburo in China Gets Four New Members
(New York Times, Oct. 22, 2007) The reshuffle promotes four officials to the nine-man Politburo Standing Committee, the country’s top ruling body, including two provincial leaders expected to inherit the posts of party general secretary and prime minister in five years’ time.

New Hierarchy in China May Limit President's Power
(New York Times, Oct. 13, 2007) After intensive bargaining, China's Communist Party has approved a new leadership lineup that denies President Hu Jintao the decisive consolidation of power that his supporters hoped would allow him to govern more assertively in his final five-year term as China's top leader.

China's Leaders Deadlocked over Succession
(International Herald Tribune, Oct. 4, 2007) Just days away from a major leadership reshuffle, China's Communist Party bosses remain deadlocked over who should sit on the ruling Politburo Standing Committee and who should be anointed to succeed President Hu Jintao as China's No. 1 leader five years from now, party officials and political observers say.

China 'Harbors no Leadership Ambitions'
(Straits Times, Sep. 10, 2007) China does not seek to lead the region or the world, now or in the future, says the man who trains the country's diplomats. 'We do not seek leadership. This is a very important part of China's policy,' said Mr Wu Jianmin, former Chinese ambassador to France and the United Nations.

From Struggle to Harmony, China Slogans Mark Hu Era
(Reuters, Sep. 7, 2007) Within a year of Hu taking power in 2002, the "scientific concept of development" began working its way into official pronouncements and the phrase "harmonious society" popped up on every banner from Beijing to Buddhist Tibet.

China Drafting Space Law
(Reuters, June 11, 2007) China is drafting laws governing outer space, state media quoted the country's first astronaut as saying at a time when Beijing's space drive is drawing growing international concern.

China Controls Seek to Prevent Terrorism
(AP, Feb. 17, 2007) China said that its new export controls on nuclear technology requiring buyers to meet stricter obligations would prevent terrorists from obtaining nuclear weapons or dangerous radioactive material.

Gunning for Wen By Melinada Liu
(Newsweek, Nov. 3, 2008) Before it passes, the global economic crisis may topple its share of leaders. Will China's Prime Minister Wen Jiabao become a casualty?

Hardliners in Bid to Oust China’s PM By Michael Sheridan
(Times, Oct. 19, 2008) China's most popular politician Wen Jiabao, the prime minister, has become a target for Communist party hardliners and could be forced from office, according to an influential magazine in Hong Kong.

Meltdown Boosts Anti-Western Forces in China By Geoffrey York
(Globe and Mail, Oct. 17, 2008) For the hardliners in China's Communist Party, the global financial crisis has been a golden opportunity to gloat about China's rising power.

‘Red Capitalists’ Unravel the Party Line By Wu Zhong
(Asia Times, Oct. 17, 2008) China's Vice President Xi Jingpin has subtly defused 30 years of thorny ideological debate by proclaiming that the Chinese Communist Party has matured from a "revolutionary party" into a "ruling party".

Hints of Discord on China Land Reform By Edward Wong
(New York Times, Oct. 15, 2008) Chinese leaders have yet to announce details of a rural reform policy they said they adopted on Sunday, contributing to speculation that Communist Party officials are in disagreement on major aspects of the policy.

China Democracy: Reformer’s Words Signal a New Debate on Political Reform By Malcolm Moore (Telegraph, Oct. 14, 2008) President Hu Jintao has promised "more extensive democratic rights" by 2020, without being more specific, and this is also the year when China's booming economy should deliver per capita GNP of $3,000, ushering in "moderate prosperity for all."

China’s Communist Rulers Debate How to Respond to the Crisis of Capitalism By David Eimer (Telegraph, Oct. 12, 2008) For four days, the Chinese Communist Party elite has been meeting behind closed doors in Beijing to thrash out how to prevent the global financial crisis from damaging China's continued prosperity as much as that of the West.

The Lost Generation of the 17th Chinese Communist Party Politburo By Leah Caprice (China Brief, Jamestown Foundation, Oct. 7, 2008) New Politburo members’ experience as part of the Cultural Revolution generation has fundamentally shaped the character of these new leaders and has proven to be an important factor in their leadership style and policy orientation.

Did China Bend to Critics before Olympics? Not Much By John Chalmers (Reuters, Aug. 15, 2008) What price did China really pay for its day in the sun? In foreign policy terms, not much.

China’s Vice-President Tiptoes on to World Stage By Benjamin Kang Lim (Reuters, Aug. 13, 2008) Chinese Vice-President Xi Jinping has tiptoed on to the world stage this Olympics, rubbing shoulders with U.S. President George W. Bush and foreign heirs apparent but making sure he doesn't steal President Hu Jintao's thunder.

Why China is Standing by Its Basket-Case Allies By Richard Spencer
(Telegraph, Jul. 16, 2008) China believes long-term advantage results from standing by those with whom you do business, rather than dropping them when their brand of dictatorship becomes less appealing than your own.

Beijing's Dictatorship Diplomacy By Stephanie Kleine-Ahlbrandt and Andrew Small (International Herald Tribune, Dec. 20, 2007) Over the last two years, Beijing has been quietly overhauling its policies toward pariah states. The shift has been driven in part by China's changing calculation of its economic and political interests. With its increased investments in pariah countries over the past decade, China has had to devise a more sophisticated approach to protecting its assets and its citizens abroad. It no longer sees providing uncritical and unconditional support to unpopular, and in some cases fragile, regimes as the most effective strategy.

Collective Leadership May Be Emerging
(Straits Times, Oct. 23, 2007) The compromise promotion to the Communist Party top leadership of two potential successors to top posts yesterday does not necessarily indicate serious divisions within the party. Indeed, some analysts believe it reflects an emerging collective leadership in China.

China Parades Next Generation of Leaders
(Washington Post, Oct. 23, 2007) Xi Jinping looked a little uncomfortable in the spotlight as President Hu Jintao introduced him as the ranking newcomer in the Communist Party's elite Politburo Standing Committee. Li Keqiang, next in line in the nine-man club of China's senior mandarins, seemed more assured but looked stiff as he marched across the stage.

China: New Leaders, Old Problems By Dexter Roberts
(Business Week, Oct. 22, 2007) A new generation may be more open to reform than the old guard, but making real changes, especially in the countryside, won't be easy. Beijing has already made clear its intention to adjust China's economic focus, and the fifth generation—as they gradually assume more power—almost certainly will stick to that path.

China Opens Path for New Generation Of Leaders
(Washington Post, Oct. 22, 2007) The Chinese Communist Party announced that three of its most powerful leaders were retiring, making way for a new generation including the eventual successor of President Hu Jintao as head of the world's most populous nation.

Yes, Ask Questions, Just Don't Expect Straight Answers
(Straits Times, Oct. 19, 2007) 'Wild rumors.' 'There is no basis for such talk.' The above responses by top Chinese leaders this week when pressed about their political fate suggest that the party still has a long way to go as far as genuine transparency is concerned. To be fair, the CCP has taken small, if careful, steps forward, and some of the political elites are showing signs of loosening up.

China Communists Plan Expanded Say in New Leadership By Chris Buckley (Reuters, Oct. 19, 2007) Chinese President Hu Jintao will give a Communist Party council some say in electing the Party's new core leadership in a breakthrough that could play against unpopular officials linked to his predecessor.

Bush Appears With Dalai Lama, Nudges China By Elizabeth Williamson (WP, Oct. 17, 2007) President Bush presented the Dalai Lama with Congress's highest civilian honor yesterday, pressing China to engage with Tibet's exiled leader in his most significant embrace of a man whose cause and global following have been a constant irritant to Beijing.

Rare Glimpse of Two of China's Rising Stars
(AP, Oct. 17, 2007) China's ruling Communist Party offered the media a rare glimpse of two rising political stars, giving them a chance to show themselves as self-effacing, businesslike and worthy for promotion to the senior leadership.

China’s Leader Closes Door to Reform By Joseph Kahn
(New York Times, Oct. 16, 2007) President Hu Jintao promised to address social fissures, a degraded environment and rampant corruption during his second term as China’s top leader, but he all but ruled out more than cosmetic political reform in his opening address at the 17th National Congress of the governing Communist Party.

Hu Set for Second Term at China's Helm By Edward Cody
(Washington Post, Oct. 14, 2007) With the party's 17th National Congress convening in Beijing, Hu, 64, is about to be anointed for a second five-year term as party secretary and president. Over the first five years, he has skillfully maneuvered to confirm his primacy in the party hierarchy and enhance his authority. But he has given no indication that he intends to use his carefully accumulated power to fulfill those early hopes for bold political change.

China's New Leaders Steeped in Pragmatism
(Associated Press, Oct. 14, 2007) Li Keqiang's rise is also a sign of how much China is changing. Like Hu, Li belongs to a new generation of Chinese leaders who are pragmatic, steeped in economic experience and increasingly have backgrounds in finance and law, in contrast to the engineers and soldiers who preceded them.

Close Ties with Hu 'Make Li Keqiang Heir Apparent'
(Straits Times, Oct. 5, 2007) Among the multitude of rising stars in the Chinese leadership, few in recent years have generated as much buzz as Mr Li Keqiang. As party chief of north-eastern Liaoning province, the 52-year-old neither holds the most coveted provincial appointment nor enjoys a high public profile.

Hu's Grade in First-Term Report Card: 'Very Good'
(Straits Times, Oct. 2, 2007) Analysts give A for growth and political stability, but not for reforms. Five years on, four analysts who spoke to The Straits Times rated his first-term performance as being better than expected, but said the lack of meaningful political reforms was a major disappointment.

Hu's Plan to Anoint Successor May Hit a Snag
(Straits Times, Sep. 28, 2007) From out of the blue, a flurry of news articles this week seem to hint at a potential scuttling of President Hu Jintao's game plan for a major leadership reshuffle next month. The highlight of the reshuffle was to have been Mr Hu's anointment of his protege Li Keqiang, 52, as his successor to the Chinese leadership in 2012. But news emerged that things might not go so smoothly.

China's Hu Tests Power at Communist Congress By Benjamin Kang Lim (Reuters, Sep. 5, 2007) When President Hu Jintao opens the 17th Chinese Communist Party congress on October 15, he will be seeking to oust key rivals, name a successor and finally emerge from the shadow of his once powerful predecessor, Jiang Zemin.

Hu in New Bid to Tighten Screws on Rival Faction
(Straits Times, Aug. 6, 2007) One has died from an undisclosed illness while another is already behind bars on corruption charges. But there appears to be no let-up in Chinese President Hu Jintao's attempts to put the squeeze on members of the rival Shanghai faction, a group of senior leaders and officials allied with his predecessor Jiang Zemin.

Beijing Takes No Chances on Security
(Reuters, Aug. 3, 2007 ) Tibetans, Uighurs, Falun Gong, dispossessed farmers, foreign human rights and environmental groups -- in China's eyes, they are all potential security threats to next year's Beijing Olympics. Making sure the Games pass without a hitch in the world's most populous nation was always going to be a challenge for China's stability-obsessed Communist rulers.

Hu Close to Getting Pet Doctrine into Party Charter
(Straits Times, June 29, 2007) President Hu Jintao has a major political victory in his sights as he accelerates efforts to write his pet ideological credo into the ruling Communist Party's Constitution. This could happen as early as October or November when the 17th Party Congress, an all-important five-yearly leadership meeting, is convened, analysts said.

Corruption Case Breaks 'Shanghai Taboo' By Edward Cody
(WP, Apr. 1, 2007) It reflects a political decision by President Hu Jintao to flex his leadership muscles against entrenched party officials known as the Shanghai faction, loosely grouped around former president Jiang Zemin and his proteges from this coastal boomtown.

China's Communist Party Continues Change
(AP, Mar. 27, 2007) China's Communist Party named two more provincial bosses Monday in a widening reshuffle likely to consolidate President Hu Jintao's power ahead of a party congress this year.

Impact of Deng's Policies Grows: Analysts
(Agence France Presse, Feb. 20, 2007) Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping died 10 years ago on Feb 19, but the impact of his policies on China and the world has only grown with time, analysts say.