From Asia Sentinel:
The president’s apparent bid to fill the new Central Committee and Politburo, which is to be determined at the 17th Congress, with his cronies goes against the dictum of the late patriarch Deng, namely, that senior officials must hail from “the four lakes and four seas.” This meant top posts should be split fairly evenly among disparate factions and regions.
It is perhaps for this reason that the past week has witnessed reports by both Reuters and the Times of London that Hu is under pressure to give up his position as president, or head of state, to Vice-President and Politburo stalwart Zeng Qinghong, who was once Jiang’s chief adviser. A party source in Beijing said that while Hu’s power has yet to peak, he is susceptible to criticism for showing blatant favoritism towards members of his own factions. [Full Text]
