On June 4th 2007, the events of Tian’anmen Square, fifteen years on, are very much present in the minds of the Chinese leaders, despite this still being a taboo subject. Preparations for the 17th CC, slated to take place in October 2007, are being accompanied by articles and analyses in the press which present Hu Jintao and Wen Jiabao as the heirs to Deng Xiaoping’s economic and political heritage. The Hu-Wen duo is, in its undoubted desire to see a correction to the negative effects of accelerated growth, also concerned with ensuring the internal status quo, thereby giving Zeng Qinghong, associated with the “Shanghai faction”, a fundamental role in preparations for the 17th Congress. However, the death of Huang Ju, a member of the politburo and another ally of Jiang Zemin,on June 2nd could provide Hu Jintao with the opportunity to appoint a close ally and faithful supporter to the highest rungs of political power.

Summary

– DOMESTIC POLITICS –

Commemorating Deng and criticising the “left”

Peasants rights, the key to developing the countryside

Institutional culture according to Wen Jiabao

Huang Ju makes headlines once more

– ECONOMY –

Employment: Priority and a Challenge for the government

Can the Gini Coefficient reflect Chinese realities?

Who’s afraid of the Stock Market Crash?

– FOREIGN POLICY –

Why United States caved in on North Korea

Russia in the eye of the West

The Path of a Power

– FROM AND ABOUT TAIWAN –

An active policy of “desinicisation”

The War of the Princes Back On: the Spectre of Division Haunts the Kuomintang

China Analysis No 13 EN