Political reform

People dine near a screen broadcasting obituary of China's former Premier Li Keqiang during the evening news, following his death, at a restaurant in Beijing, China, on 27 October 2023. (Tingshu Wang/Reuters)

China’s reform and opening up in dire straits after passing of Li Keqiang?

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?
A woman walks past a billboard showing Chinese President Xi Jinping with a slogan which reads "Remain true to our original aspiration and keep our mission firmly in mind" in Beijing on 28 February 2023. (Jade Gao/AFP)

Possible reforms to security agencies expose CCP's anxiety over external and internal risks

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.
This file photo taken on 15 October 2022 shows a man walking past portraits of (left to right) late Chinese chairman Mao Zedong and former Chinese leaders Deng Xiaoping, Jiang Zemin, Hu Jintao and current president Xi Jinping at Yan’an Revolutionary Memorial Hall in Yan'an city, Shaanxi province, China. (Jade Gao/AFP)

Did Jiang Zemin pave the way for greater centralised rule in China?

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.
In this file photo taken on 19 October 1992, General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party Jiang Zemin applauds in Beijing during a press unveiling to introduce new members to the standing committee of the poliburo. (Mike Fiala/AFP)

Jiang Zemin who deepened China's reform and opening up dies at age 96

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.
In this file photo taken on 12 March 2018, a propaganda poster showing China's President Xi Jinping is displayed on a wall in Beijing, China. (Nicolas Asfouri/AFP)

[Party and the man] Ditching presidential term limit an exception not the rule

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.
Visitors are seen silhouetted against a Chinese Communist Party flag displayed at the Museum of the Communist Party of China in Beijing, China, 3 September 2022. (Florence Lo/Reuters)

China's far-left narratives are leading the country into a dead end

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?
Anies Baswedan at an event in Jakarta, 22 July 2022. (Facebook/Anies Baswedan)

Anies Baswedan: Indonesia’s potential president adept at identity politics

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?
People wave red flags during the filming of a Communist Party of China propaganda video in an upscale shopping district in the Sanlitun area in Beijing, China, 19 October 2021. (Thomas Peter/Reuters)

Uniting China under Xi Jinping to build a modern socialist country: CPC to pass new 'historical resolution' at sixth plenum

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.
People walk along a street in Beijing, China, on 12 October 2021. (Noel Celis/AFP)

Prelude to CPC’s 20th Party Congress in 2022: Seven new provincial party secretaries appointed

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?