From The Los Angeles Times: As China’s leadership prepares for a key meeting, President Hu is showing he means business when he calls for unity in the party.
In advance of a key Communist Party meeting this weekend, Chinese President Hu Jintao has worked overtime to burnish the image of harmony in the party, even if it’s taken some bloodletting to drive the point home. The purge late last month of Shanghai party boss Chen Liangyu on corruption charges, quickly followed by the fall of two prominent party officials in Henan province, sent shock waves through China’s political establishment.
The incidents also served as a warning to those in lower party ranks that Hu means business, further consolidating his power and stressing his underdogoriented policies as he heads into the fourth year of an expected 10-year administration. [Full Text]