Political systems

Chinese commentator Ma Haotian points out that when segments of the population feel the pain of China’s strict Covid controls, discontent boils over in search of an outlet. As China knows from its history, it is impossible to achieve outcomes that tick every box. It will have to learn to be flexible and accept trade-offs if the country and its people are to move forward from the yoke of zero-Covid.

Starting from an email claiming to have a name list of the incoming Politburo Standing Committee for sale, Zaobao’s associate editor Han Yong Hong takes a look at the approaching 20th Party Congress of the CCP and explains the veil of secrecy around it, and what could be the outcome.

With the 20th Party Congress just days away, Zaobao correspondent Chen Jing looks at the government’s economic policies and actions over the past decade, including its cleanup of the technology and education sectors, and pandemic lockdowns. How has the party responded, and what impact has there been on the people?

China’s strict pandemic measures have undoubtedly caused significant inconvenience to the ordinary people. However, while there is talk that the measures might be relaxed after the 20th Party Congress, the signals from state media seem to suggest that the “dynamic zero” approach to Covid-19 is here to stay, at least for some time yet. Zaobao correspondent Yang Danxu tells us more.

While some consider Xi Jinping’s departure from the two-term presidential limit a sign of a descent into dictatorship, many fail to see that for China’s particular juncture in history, a deep centralisation of power is necessary, and Xi Jinping is very possibly the resolute leader needed to do it. However, this also means that China’s political future could go either way, either morphing into a new integration of democracy, rule of law and good governance, or being locked in a system that makes absolute power possible. This is the last in a series of four articles on President Xi Jinping and the road ahead.

There is an unwritten rule in the Chinese Communist Party leadership for Politburo members to stay on at 67 years old and retire at 68. But the average age of the representatives at the upcoming 20th Party Congress is higher than the previous session five years ago, with more members aged 55 and above. Is this a signal that age does not matter and other criteria would take priority? Zaobao correspondent Yang Danxu tells us more.

Commentator Lew Mon-hung notes that recent public opinion in China has been advocating a closed-door policy, sharply diverting away from the national policy of reform and opening up taken in 1978. Will China change course and reverse its decades-long process?

It seems that the Chinese and foreign media have very different approaches to covering the Beijing Winter Olympics — Chinese journalists want to portray the favourable side of the Games while foreign journalists tend to take a more critical stand in focusing on problems. Zaobao correspondent Yang Danxu examines this phenomenon.

The first episode of an anti-graft documentary highlighted the case of former Vice-Minister of Public Security Sun Lijun, who built a personal following in the Communist Party of China (CPC) by helping other officials with promotions, despite not being among the very top leadership himself. How did he build up his clique? Zaobao correspondent Yu Zeyuan reports.