Subscribe free to our newsletters via your
. Solar Energy News .




SUPERPOWERS
China says key Communist congress to last 7 days
by Staff Writers
Beijing (AFP) Nov 7, 2012


The lead-up to the congress has been tense due to the months-long controversy over former senior leader Bo Xilai.

China's ruling Communist Party said Wednesday its highly anticipated congress would last for one week, as it signalled Vice President Xi Jinping had moved closer to taking the reins of power.

Xi was tapped for a key post overseeing the five-yearly congress that opens Thursday in Beijing. At the meeting, he is expected to replace President Hu Jintao as party chief in a once-a-decade power transition.

"The preparatory meeting passed the appointment of Comrade Xi Jinping as secretary general of the congress," said Cai Mingzhao, official spokesman for the party congress.

The move likely signals that Xi's much-expected ascent to the country's top leadership post is on track.

Xi, 59, has been number two to Hu since 2008. His likely appointment to head the all-powerful party at the congress's close will set the stage for his promotion to president of the world's most populous nation, expected next March.

Xi and the rest of the future leadership take the reins amid growing pressure for the party to reform to curb rising corruption and spur economic growth, which recently slowed to its lowest quarterly rate since 2009.

"(The congress) will be one of great importance, when China is in a crucial stage of building a modern and prosperous society in all respects, taking on reform and opening up, and accelerating the transformation of the growth pattern," Cai said at a press briefing.

He added that the congress would close on November 14 and confirmed that a new set of leaders to the party's Politburo Standing Committee -- China's top decision-making body -- would be unveiled at the end of the congress as per tradition every 10 years.

The party had not previously said how long the sensitive meeting would last.

Eight out of 10 Chinese want political reform and two-thirds feel the government should face greater public scrutiny, according to a survey of residents of major cities published on Wednesday in the state-run Global Times newspaper.

Elements in the ruling party are widely believed to favour some form of political reform to bolster its legitimacy, but the exact nature of any internal debate remains unknown due to the secrecy surrounding its affairs.

The lead-up to the congress has been tense due to the months-long controversy over former senior leader Bo Xilai.

Bo, the former party boss in the southwestern mega-city of Chongqing, was once seen as a candidate for promotion to the party's top echelons.

But he was brought down earlier this year by murder allegations against his wife and faces trial for abuse of power and other charges in a case that political observers say has revealed divisions among the senior leadership.

Of the Bo case, Cai said "the lessons have been extremely profound."

He offered no details on the political impact within the party but said Bo's downfall reflected "the strong resolve and unequivocal attitude of the party to uphold integrity and fight corruption."

Preparations for the closed-door power handover come as Americans re-elected President Barack Obama in the full glare of the world's media, prompting pungent comment by Chinese Internet users at their own lack of democracy.

"Why has the Chinese people's interest in the US presidential election reached a new high? Because the Chinese people have given up their own affairs... they are not allowed to handle them!" said a posting on a microblog service run by Internet giant Tencent.

Authorities in Beijing have tightened up security ahead of the congress and deployed a huge security presence, especially around the Great Hall of the People, the Stalinist edifice next to Tiananmen Square where it will be held.

Hundreds of activists have been put under house arrest, rights groups have said, while taxi drivers have been told to lock their back windows apparently to prevent passengers from throwing out flyers with political messages.

.


Related Links
Learn about the Superpowers of the 21st Century at SpaceWar.com
Learn about nuclear weapons doctrine and defense at SpaceWar.com






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle








SUPERPOWERS
Outside View: A real presidential agenda
Washington (UPI) Nov 7, 2012
The only downside to writing a Wednesday column recurs every fourth November and the day after the United States' presidential elections. Few sensible columnists who go to press early on that Wednesday want to risk wrongly predicting the results. The lesson of 1948 when a major Chicago newspaper headline trumpeted "Dewey Wins" over President Harry Truman won't be readily forgotten. And ... read more


SUPERPOWERS
Sweet diesel! Discovery resurrects process to convert sugar directly to diesel

First solely-biofuel jet flight raises clean travel hopes

Biofuel breakthrough: Quick cook method turns algae into oil

Switching to an energy crop: Break even or make a profit?

SUPERPOWERS
Off to the Future with a new Soccer Robot

Flying rescue robot can avoid obstacles

Advanced exoskeleton promises more independence for people with paraplegia

Powered exoskeleton helps paralyzed walk

SUPERPOWERS
Scotland approves 85MW Highlands wind farm

China backs suit against Obama over wind farm deal

DNV KEMA awarded framework agreement for German wind project developer SoWiTec

Sandia Labs benchmark helps wind industry measure success

SUPERPOWERS
Green cars ready to race in 2nd Atacama solar challenge

China auto firms in 'strategic alliance' to compete

Glow-in-the-dark roads will guide drivers

Japan auto giants warn on China dispute, strong yen

SUPERPOWERS
Exxon tells Iraq it wants to sell oilfield stake

Hydro-Fracking: Fact vs. Fiction

Strategic oil needed if Iran shuts Hormuz

Gunmen kill two Chinese workers in Nigeria: company

SUPERPOWERS
Scandal prompts S. Korea to probe all nuclear reactors

Canada, India clinch nuclear trade deal

TEPCO says Fukushima clean up, compensation may hit $125 bn

TEPCO believes Fukushima may cost $125 bn

SUPERPOWERS
Dealing with power outages more efficiently

US military mobilizes to help restore power to New York

Sustainable cities must look beyond city limits

Outside View: Energy companies' taxes

SUPERPOWERS
Mountain meadows dwindling in the Pacific Northwest

New three-fingered frog discovered in southern Brazil

Action needed to prevent more devastating tree diseases entering the UK

Inspiration from Mother Nature leads to improved wood




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - Space Media Network. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement