Critic of Bo Xilai expected to win spot on Politburo Standing Committee

Special to WorldTribune.com

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) administration’s continued persecution of dissidents and nongovernmental organization activists belies expectations that Beijing might pick up the threads of political reform after the downfall of the crypto-Maoist princeling, former Chongqing Party Secretary Bo Xilai.

wangyang — Wang Yang is the Communist Party chief of the southern province of Guangdong. /Getty Images

Pledges made to senior U.S. officials, including Secretary of State Hillary Clinton notwithstanding, police and thugs continue to harass blind lawyer Chen Guangcheng and his relatives and lawyers.

This is despite the fact that People’s Daily and an assortment of official media have for the past fortnight run a series of commentaries that call for gradual, incremental political liberalization.

The CCP’s much-attenuated liberal wing is placing its hopes on the charismatic Politburo member and Guangdong Province Party Secretary Wang Yang, 57, who won the nickname “Young Marshal” for daring to challenge established political practice.

Read complete article.

Chen Guangcheng, Critic of Bo Xilai expected to win spot on Politburo Standing Committee, Guangdong Province, Hillary Clinton, Wang Yang

Critic of Bo Xilai expected to win spot on Politburo Standing Committee added by World Tribune on May 23, 2012
View all posts by World Tribune →