Political reform

Later generations of Chinese may take reform and opening up for granted, but this key national policy and strategy was in fact hard fought by an earlier generation of leaders such as the late former Premier Li Keqiang. With great outpourings of grief seen after Li's demise, are the Chinese people learning something about cherishing something only after it's gone?

The 20th Party Congress set the direction for the Chinese Communist Party, but it is the upcoming Two Sessions that measures will be discussed and put into action. The highlight is the likely reforms to national security agencies, as well as finance and other sectors.

Taiwanese academic Wen-Hsuan Tsai notes that while the late former Chinese President Jiang Zemin had pushed forward economic development during his tenure, he had neglected political reform, and in so doing, possibly paved the way for ever greater centralised rule in China.

Zaobao correspondent Yu Zeyuan presents the life and achievements of Jiang Zemin, following his passing at the age of 96. While he was seen as not having enough heft on his own when he first began as CCP general secretary, he had chalked up various achievements by the end of his tenure and graceful exit.

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.

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?

ISEAS academic Leo Suryadinata gives a profile of Anies Baswedan, former education and culture minister of Indonesia, current Jakarta governor, and potential presidential candidate. Will he run, and if he does, what is his platform likely to be?

At the sixth plenary session of the 19th Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee which begins today, the CPC is expected to consider the “Resolution of the CPC Central Committee on the Major Achievements of the Party’s Centennial Struggle”, the third of its kind in the party’s history. Rather than dwelling on the errors or lessons of history, the resolution is expected to reaffirm the party’s achievements and point the way ahead for the next 30 years.

A year ahead of the Communist Party of China’s 20th Party Congress in autumn 2022, a round of promotions and game of musical chairs is at play again among provincial party secretaries. Which are the stars to look out for?