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China party praises Hu's harmony doctrine
2006-10-11
China's ruling Communist Party lauded President Hu Jintao's doctrine of creating a "harmonious society" on Wednesday, underscoring his growing strength as the party announced plans for a key congress next year. A four-day session of the Central Committee -- an elite panel of some 350 officials -- ended by endorsing a statement "on constructing a socialist harmonious society," the official Xinhua news agency reported. The 17th Party Congress would meet in Beijing in the second half of 2007, it also said. "There are many conflicts and problems affecting social harmony," the meeting decision read, according to Xinhua. "We must always remain clear-headed and be vigilant even in tranquil times." Hu, appointed party general secretary at the previous Congress in 2002, is expected to consolidate his grip on power and ideology in the one-party state at next year's gathering. He has summed up his agenda by calling for a "harmonious society" that narrows inequality and eases social strains, and the meeting put his theme on a higher official pedestal. By 2020, China would have narrowed yawning income disparities and would be enjoying relatively full employment, Wednesday's communique said. But Beijing would seek to maintain rapid economic growth, it indicated. "A harmonious society above all needs development," the statement said. Wednesday's decision will help Hu to nudge aside the legacy of his predecessor, Jiang Zemin, who ushered capitalists into the Communist Party. Many of Hu's colleagues in the party's inner circle are Jiang proteges, and Hu is likely to push some into retirement at the 17th Congress or before. But official reports gave no sign that the closed-door meeting took any decisions about Chen Liangyu, the powerful party boss of Shanghai -- Jiang's bastion -- whose sacking last month highlighted worries over widespread corruption and official abuse. Chen lost his seat in the party's 24-member Politburo, the first member of the decision-making body to be sacked since 1995 when Jiang purged and jailed Beijing party boss Chen Xitong. The two Chens are not related. Shanghai Mayor Han Zheng has been named the city's acting party chief, and some party insiders had said Hu might use this Central Committee session to appoint a protege to run the city, consolidating power in the run-up to the 2007 Congress. There was no announcement of personnel changes late on Wednesday. But the meeting told party officials to become more accountable and law-abiding. "Anti-corruption mechanisms should be improved and the supervision of leading officials and organizations should be intensified," it said. Muzi.com News
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