(Official) End of the Jiang Era?

Hopefully these are the last tidbits about the ongoing Communist Party Congress, most of which should still be taken with a pinch of salt.

According to a report, after Party General Secretary Hu Jintao (胡锦涛) delivered his keynote address at the opening of the Congress this week, he walked back to his seat, and along the way, shook hands with Jiang Zemin (江泽民).

"But the two did not exchange any words. After the session was drawn to a close by NPC Chairman Wu Bangguo (吴邦国), Hu engaged in small talk with officials who crowded around him, but Jiang walked away on his own. And even when he was near the exit, no one went up to say hello to him."

The report added: "即使曾领风骚, 江泽民时代真的过去了. 昨天, 他看上去精神不佳, 除步履缓慢, 站立时身体还略为倾斜. 北京政坛盛传, 在中共17大人事换届布局上, 江, 胡间意见不合, 有些不欢."

("Even though he was once calling the shots, the Jiang Zemin era is really a thing of the past. Yesterday, Jiang looked as if he was in poor spirits. Apart from his slow footsteps, his body seemed to be tilting slightly when he stood up. According to discussions emanating from Beijing's political arena, Hu and Jiang had opposing views about personnel changes prior to the 17th Party Congress, and there was unhappiness between the two.")

According to another report, there was a "collective verbal agreement" reached at the end of the last Congress in 2003. The agreement stipulated that in matters of grave importance, the leadership would turn to Jiang for advice. But an analyst was quoted as saying that "judging from the present political climate, such a verbal agreement will not re-appear again in this 17th Party Congress."

Turning to Politburo Standing Committee (PSB) member Jia Qinglin (贾庆林), many reports wondered if he would stay on as PSC member. Others were certain that even if he did, given his current 67 years of age, and given his purported links with the largest smuggling case in Fujian, Jia would not be able to complete his second five-year term.

Oh, come on, the smuggling case had dogged Jia for several years now, and he seemed to have weathered it fairly well. Even if he did not get to finish his second five-year term, it would have been due to age. And even so, that is after he had enjoyed so many years of prestige and being in power!

Another report noted that it is clear that Hu Jintao and future Chinese leaders had no intention of appointing a "successor." Rather, the choice of the next successor will be entrusted to the "central leadership." This, the analyst noted, is an indication that Hu wants to move from a leadership based on the "core", to a leadership based on the "collective."