Want China Times, Howard Shih 2012-11-08
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| The 18th National Congress has opened at Beijing's Great Hall of the People. (Photo/Howard Shih) |
The wait is
finally over. At precisely 9am on Thursday, the Chinese Communist Party
officially declared the opening of its 18th National Congress, at the
conclusion of which the party general secretary and national president, Hu
Jintao, will hand over the reins to Xi Jinping, who will head the PRC's fifth
generation of leaders for the next decade.
Over the
next seven days at the five-yearly meeting, the party's 2,325 delegates from 38
regional delegations will discuss the overall direction of the country for the
next 10 years and beyond, from economic and social management, cultural and
infrastructure development to the ongoing battle against official corruption.
On Nov. 15, the party's new Central Committee will officially name Xi as its
general secretary and reveal the identity of its 25-member Politburo and the
seven or nine members of the all-powerful Politburo Standing Committee, China's
ultimate decision-making group.
In a
near-two-hour opening address at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Hu
summarized the key points of the party report to the 18th National Congress,
emphasizing the country's growth and development under his leadership over the
past decade.
Since the
last party congress, in 2007, China has made giant strides in multiple areas,
Hu said, including economics, reform, living standards, culture, society,
national security, science, technology and foreign affairs. While admitting
that there remain many obstacles, such as uneven development, the wealth gap
and corruption, Hu stressed the "unprecedented opportunities" and
"historic responsibility" of the party as it continues on its path of
"Socialism with Chinese Characteristics," the party's guiding
ideology.
There were
no surprises in Hu's long speech, which was periodically punctuated by
exclamations of party mantras followed by the inevitable raucous applause from
the delegates.
While
formal in atmosphere, the ceremony exuded a celebratory vibe that exhibited
none of the rumored factional tensions plaguing the party in the lead up to the
congress. Delegates clapped to the beat of festive party music as Politburo
leaders including Hu, Xi and Premier Wen Jiabao, as well as the former
president Jiang Zemin, took the stage and shook hands with members of the
Central Committee.
The
majority of the delegates appeared excited to be there, happily snapping
photographs with their cameras and smartphones as they made their way to the
venue from the rows of coaches parked in Tiananmen Square. Representatives of
some of China's minority ethnic groups drew particular attention dressed in
their traditional attire.
China's
rapid development and its pivotal role in a struggling global economy has made
the opening of the congress, which comes a day after Barack Obama was elected
for a second term as president of the United States, a primary focus for
countries around the globe.
At the same
time, the congress serves as a timely opportunity for China to demonstrate its
prestige and progress to the rest of the world, with local news agencies keen
to point out that this year's congress is being attended by a record 1,704
foreign journalists and being broadcast live in nine foreign languages.
Real-time coverage is also provided by the official news agency Xinhua and the
party mouthpiece People's Daily.
References:
Hu Jintao 胡錦濤
Xi Jinping 習近平
Wen Jiabao 溫家?
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