Come Join The Party! (The Chinese Communist Party that is)

Over the course of 2002-2003, the Party, State and military leadership in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) will undergo sweeping change in terms of the individuals holding official positions.  The 16th Party Congress will meet in October 2002, to announce the new leaders.  It is widely suspected that the current leaders will step down from their offices, appoint their "fourth generation" proteges, and continue to wield influence behind the scenes. The challenge is not only to guess who will be appointed to the vacated posts, but who will survive.  The sorry experience of past "designated successors" – from Lin Biao, to Hua Guofeng, to Hu Yaobang, to Zhao Ziyang – demonstrates that not all the hand-picked leaders last very long.

The coming months will be full of back-room battling and speculation amongst outsiders, leading up to the 16th Party Congress at which new members of the Political Bureau Standing Committee, the Political Bureau (Politburo), the Central Committee, and the Central Military Commission will be selected. On the State side, with the 10^th National People’s Congress slated for March 2003, the leaders of China’s government, including the Premier, Vice Premiers, State Councilors, and heads of government ministries will also see significant change.

Click on the buttons to learn more about the players.  The Betting Pool is the place where you can try your luck and guess who gets the job and who doesn't!  "What will Hu do?" is an essay giving you some idea what to expect from Hu Jintao in his first few years in the big seat.

Patriotism has the lyrics to the national anthem and other goodies for aspiring party watchers.  "Don't be a dummy, be a smarty, come and join the commie party" - apologies to Mel Brooks.