From openDemocracy:
The “seventeenth national party congress” in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) hardly sounds like an event that merits frontpage headlines far outside Beijing. Nor, on past precedents, will the gathering in the Great Hall of the People on 15-19 October 2007 see much in the way of visible drama.
On the contrary, the images beamed to China’s own people and to the world will be familiar, as lengthy speeches from the rostrum will be delivered in front of the serried, impassive 2,217 delegates from across the PRC. Some will be wearing their colourful “ethnic minority” dress, some scribbling on the sheets of paper before them, some sipping from their small cups of tea, some even appearing to be in a deep slumber. [Full Text]
Kerry Brown is an associate fellow on the Asia programme, Chatham House, and director of Strategic China Ltd.
