Harsh punishment not likely for Bo Xilai and ‘red aristocracy’ members targeted by anti-graft campaign

Harsh punishment not likely for Bo Xilai and ‘red aristocracy’ members targeted by anti-graft campaign

Special to WorldTribune.com By Willy Lam, East-Asia-Intel.com While the official Chinese media have claimed that the trial of former Politburo member Bo Xilai testifies to the Xi Jinping leadership’s commitment to fighting graft, it is unlikely that “tigers” among venal cadres will be nabbed any time soon. There is a well-known “mutual protection clause” within […]

Dictators’ Club: Xi Jinping blocks predecessors on choice of his successor

Dictators’ Club: Xi Jinping blocks predecessors on choice of his successor

Special to WorldTribune.com By Willy Lam, East-Asia-Intel.com While General Secretary and President Xi Jinping has not yet been in office for one year, different factions of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) are already jockeying for position regarding the identity of Xi’s successor. It was late patriarch Deng Xiaoping who started the tradition called the “cross-generation […]

Xi Jinping spares top party leaders whose scale of corruption qualified them for execution

Xi Jinping spares top party leaders whose scale of corruption qualified them for execution

Special to WorldTribune.com By Willy Lam, East-Asia-Intel.com It’s a case of plus ça change with President ’s nine-month old campaign to rectify the “work style” of Chinese Communist Party (CCP) through means including cracking down on big-time corruption. Earlier this week the protagonist of the one of worst scandals in PRC history – former minister […]

More Maoist than thou: Xi Jinping is in, Bo Xilai is out, but the CCP is still thoroughly corrupt

More Maoist than thou: Xi Jinping is in, Bo Xilai is out, but the CCP is still thoroughly corrupt

Special to WorldTribune.com By Willy Lam, East-Asia-Intel.com China’s supreme leader Xi Jinping marked his 60th birthday last weekend by launching a Mao-style “mass line political education” campaign in an apparent effort to raise the moral standards of the 83 million members of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The official Xinhua news agency quoted Xi as […]

The sons also rise: Xi Jinping grooms more and more princelings for top slots

The sons also rise: Xi Jinping grooms more and more princelings for top slots

Special to WorldTribune.com By Willy Lam, East-Asia-Intel.com Given the apparent ease with which President Xi Jinping has consolidated his hold on power, it is perhaps not surprising that the princeling (a reference to the offspring of party elders) is actively nurturing the careers of younger members of the “red aristocracy.” In the past year, several […]

Beijing’s divide-and-conquer ‘diplomacy’ splits alliances, public and private sectors

Beijing’s divide-and-conquer ‘diplomacy’ splits alliances, public and private sectors

Special to WorldTribune.com By Willy Lam, East-Asia-Intel.com The usually deferential official Chinese media has characterized Premier Li Keqiang performance during his just-completed four-nation visit as “Li-style diplomacy.” The last leg of Li’s first overseas trip as head of government – a mere two-day stopover in Berlin – has demonstrated the hard edge of enhanced hard-power […]

‘Get ready to fight’: China shifts from Deng’s ‘low profile’ to Mao’s aggression

‘Get ready to fight’: China shifts from Deng’s ‘low profile’ to Mao’s aggression

Special to WorldTribune.com By Willy Lam, East-Asia-Intel.com Nothing illustrates better the conservative turn that Chinese politics and foreign policy have taken under the Xi Jinping administration than the way ministers and senior cadres are reviving the credos – and familiar sayings – of Chairman Mao Zedong. Consider the reaction of the new Chinese ambassador to […]