The Los Angeles Times gives an overview of the lead-up to the Party Congress, to begin tomorrow:
Control and secrecy are paramount. Nearly a year before the congress, the propaganda ministry distributed its list of forbidden media topics for 2007, which included judicial corruption, lifestyles of the wealthy and extramarital affairs.Several months ago, state media stopped reporting all “bad news.” Until a few weeks ago, even the schedule was a state secret. The 2,217 delegates are now sequestered in a few hotels, beyond the reach of family, friends or reporters. [Full text]
Read also Tim Johnson’s post about trying to get information from a government spokesman at a pre-Party Congress press conference; and Special coverage of CCP 17th national congress on Chinaelections.org.