|
||||||||
  |
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Jiang hints at departure
By CNN Senior China Analyst Willy Wo-Lap Lam
HONG KONG, China (CNN) -- President Jiang Zemin has indicated for the first time that he is calling it quits -- by borrowing a line from revered Song Dynasty poet Su Shi (1037-1101). "It's just too chilly to remain in this high altitude," Jiang, 76, told kinsfolk and intimates shortly before his departure for the U.S. earlier this week. This well-known Su line has been cited by Chinese officials through the centuries to indicate readiness to leave a certain high post. According to Beijing sources, the president, who likes to show off his knowledge of classical poetry, also told close friends and aides recently that he should "seize the day in enjoying the simple joys of life." Jiang is expected to relinquish his post of party general secretary at the upcoming 16th Communist party Congress -- and his state presidency at the plenary session of the National People's Congress (NPC) next March. He is also tipped to remain Chairman of both the Communist party and the State Central Military Commissions (CMC) until the NPC. SpeculationUntil last month, however, there was intense speculation in Beijing that Jiang wanted to serve for at least two more years as party general secretary and CMC chairman. While meeting representatives of the Chinese community at the Chinese consulate in Chicago on Wednesday, Jiang hinted that he was getting too old to travel. Referring at least two times to his difficulty with jet lag, Jiang said he still felt sleepy and dizzy -- and he could not deliver his prepared speech in full. The president is due to meet counterpart George W. Bush on Friday in what is likely to be his last presidential summit on U.S. soil. PromotionsParty sources in Beijing said one of the last acts of Jiang prior to departure for the U.S. was to ensure the promotion at the 16th Congress of a large number of the members of the Jiang or Shanghai Faction to the Politburo and the Politburo Standing Committee. As many as ten or 11 Jiang cronies may be in the new Politburo, which usually comprises about 20 members. They include the Head of the party's Organization Department, Zeng Qinghong; Vice-Premier Wu Bangguo; the former and current Beijing party boss Jia Qinglin and Liu Qi; the former and current party boss of Shanghai, Huang Ju and Chen Liangyu; Minister at the State Development Planning Commission Zeng Peiyan; Education Minister Chen Zhili; Guangdong party secretary Li Changchun; and Generals Xu Gangchuan and Guo Boxiong. The preponderance of the president's men at the new Politburo would ensure that the new party general secretary and state president Hu Jintao will have to cleave to the Jiang line for at least a few more years.
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
