| Miss an Update, Weekly Links, or a North Korea Report? Find it on our web site. Link of the Week Just barely squeaking by their rivals, the editors of the Washington Post put their finger on the real reason former Communist Party chief and continuing Central Military Commission Chairman Jiang Zemin brought �private� businessmen into the Communist Party: a �cozy alliance between bureaucratic and economic elites, shielded by an authoritarian umbrella.� Who has more power, Hu or Jiang? That is the question most are trying to sort out as Hu becomes party leader, but Jiang Zemin stays as CMC Chairman and holds a firm grip on the Politburo Standing Committee. CNN�s Willy Wo-Lap Lam examines the new lay of the political land. �On one hand it's a mafia, on the other it's a modern country.� That�s what one source told John Pomfret, Washington Post, about what the new Politburo Standing Committee says about Communist China. Meanwhile, Pomfret and Philip Pan also take a look at the most likely rival to new Communist Party leader Hu Jintao, outside of CMC Chair Jiang himself � Zeng Qinghong, Jiang�s top prot�g�. More on the Reshuffle and the Party Congress The editors of the Washington Times take note of CMC Chairman Jiang Zemin�s maneuvers to wield power over the man who is now the head of the Communist Party, Hu Jintao. They find that even if Hu has an impulse for reform � which they rightly doubt � it will likely go nowhere thanks to Jiang, who rose to power during the Tiananmen Square massacre on the wings of Deng Xiaoping � then CMC Chairman. Rupert Wingfield-Hayes, BBC, calls last week's Party Congress, �old-time Marxist political theatre.� Meanwhile, Adam Brookes, BBC, gives a guide on how to succeed in Communist Chinese politics. On Taiwan and the Communist Reshuffle As Michael Bristow (BBC) sees it, Taiwan�s perspective on the reshuffle is: meet the new boss, same as the old boss. On Youth and the Communist Party Jaime FlorCuz, CNN, finds support for the Communist Party on the wane among younger Chinese. On Communist China and Trade Mary Hennock, BBC, examines Communist China�s growing manufacturing power and its effect on the United States and Japan. Meanwhile, Mike Chinoy, CNN, looks at how trade is affecting the relationship between the PRC and the island democracy of Taiwan. A Flat Tax in Communist China? Arnold Beichman, Hoover Institution, notes that the PRC�s Ministry of Finance publishing arm asked for a translation of The Flat Tax. Whatever one my think of the idea, Beichman, in the Washington Times, reveals some unfortunate naivet�: �It's quite possible that the decision to publish The Flat Tax was taken by professional Chinese economists with little if any consultation with the Chinese Communist Party.� Sigh. Check out the latest on Communist China and the Terrorist War. Sign up now for the next North Korea Report, due out on Monday. Sign the Boycott Petition: In reaction to the decision of the International Olympic Committee awarding Beijing the 2008 Olympic Games, the China e-Lobby has begun a petition for an American boycott of those games. Feel free to forward this to anyone you think might be interested in receiving it. Anyone who wishes to join can send his/her name and e-mail address to [email protected]. Please feel free to send any news on Communist China you happen to find to the same address. |