China's 'next leader' calls for greater political unity
Vice President Xi Jinping, calls for greater political unity. Vice President Xi Jinping, is expected to take over from President Hu as head of the party later this year before succeeding him as president in 2013.
China's likely next leader has called for greater unity in the ruling Communist Party in a speech published Friday – a day after the biggest political drama to hit the country in years.
The sacking of rising star Bo Xilai has bolstered President Hu Jintao's reformist faction and exposed deep divides in the Communist Party ahead of a 10-yearly leadership transition, analysts say.
A day after Bo was sacked, the Communist Party magazine Qiushi, or Seeking Truth, published a speech in which China's likely next leader called for greater unity in the party.
Xi did not mention Bo by name in his speech, delivered to cadets at the Central Party School, a training ground for future leaders, on March 1.
But David Goodman, an expert on Chinese politics, said it sent a message that party leaders did not want the kind of open politics that the charismatic and populist Bo was seen as practising.
Vice President Xi Jinping, who is expected to take over from Hu as head of the party later this year before succeeding him as president in 2013, did not mention Bo by name.
China's likely next leader has called for greater unity in the ruling Communist Party in a speech published Friday – a day after the biggest political drama to hit the country in years.
The sacking of rising star Bo Xilai has bolstered President Hu Jintao's reformist faction and exposed deep divides in the Communist Party ahead of a 10-yearly leadership transition, analysts say.
A day after Bo was sacked, the Communist Party magazine Qiushi, or Seeking Truth, published a speech in which China's likely next leader called for greater unity in the party.
Xi did not mention Bo by name in his speech, delivered to cadets at the Central Party School, a training ground for future leaders, on March 1.
But David Goodman, an expert on Chinese politics, said it sent a message that party leaders did not want the kind of open politics that the charismatic and populist Bo was seen as practising.
Vice President Xi Jinping, who is expected to take over from Hu as head of the party later this year before succeeding him as president in 2013, did not mention Bo by name.
"To maintain the party's ideological purity is to guarantee the unity of the party," said Xi, accusing some members of "a lack or principles and corrupt behaviour which is not conducive to the purity of the party".
"Today some people join the party not because they believe in Marxism and want to devote themselves to Socialism with Chinese characteristics ... but because becoming a member brings them personal benefits," he added.
"There are discussions going on about what policies should be adopted in what order and in what direction," said David Goodman, a professor of Chinese politics at the University of Sydney.
China announced on Thursday that Bo, a rising star once tipped to reach the very top in the ruling party, had been removed from his post in the southwestern metropolis of Chongqing.
He remains a member of the party's powerful Politburo, but analysts say his political hopes are finished after a scandal involving a key aide who was said to have tried to defect to the United States.
The demise of Bo, who championed a stronger state role, highlights the intense debate among senior leaders about the direction of the Chinese economy and the pace of reforms many see as essential to prevent a collapse.
"There are discussions going on about what policies should be adopted in what order and in what direction," said David Goodman, a professor of Chinese politics at the University of Sydney.
Willy Lam said Bo's demise was a "victory" for Hu and his supporters, but factional horsetrading in the coming months would determine who was promoted instead of Bo to the Politburo Standing Committee, the apex of political power.
"The power struggle between the Youth League and the princelings has intensified. Bo is a victim of that power struggle," said Lam, a China expert at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.
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