CHINA:It was very much business as usual as China's communist elite set about choosing a new generation of leaders and reinforcing the party's grip on power at the high-profile 17th congress in Beijing yesterday.
There are some superficial differences between this congress and the previous 16 five-yearly outings. chairman Mao Zedong, for instance, used to favour a Sun Yat-sen tunic when attending, while president Hu Jintao opted for a business suit when he made his wide-ranging address on Monday. What hasn't changed, though, is that congress continues to exert crucial influence within the ranks of communist cadres.
There has been much talk of democracy both in speeches and on the sidelines, but what is on offer is intra-party "socialist democracy", with senior cadres emphasising that western-style democracy is not an option.
Foreign journalists have been encouraged to attend the congress, which has received wide coverage in the domestic media. Mr Hu's two-hour 20-minute speech on Monday was broadcast live on nationwide television.
Most of the important decisions about who wields power in the party are being made in secret in hotel rooms and lobbies around the capital, an opaque decision-making process that leaves no room for the oft-cited masses to have any input. Mr Hu is said to be negotiating behind the scenes to overcome the influence of a faction dominated by Jiang Zemin in making appointments to the top echelons of power.
If anything, the congress is a stark reminder that the decision-making process in China is a black box into which only very few Chinese, and certainly no foreigners, are allowed direct access. But we do get clues on how the power structure operates.
Mr Hu's accession to power, replacing Jiang Zemin as general secretary of the CPC central committee at the 16th congress in 2002, state president in 2003 and military chief in 2004, was China's first smooth leadership transition since the 1949 revolution. This forces the current politburo to make up the rules as they go along.
Congress has also given us a glimpse of two of the men tipped as future leaders of the world's most populous nation. One of them could be Mr Hu's successor as president in 2012.
Li Keqiang (52), Communist Party chief in the northeastern province of Liaoning, and Shanghai's top communist Xi Jinping (54) kept to the script when they appeared in front of cameras, singing Mr Hu's mantra about the importance of a "harmonious society". They advocated the continuation of reform, and proclaimed their allegiance to the principle of "scientific development".
They also called for a less frenetic form of economic growth and urged environmental responsibility, which is in the spirit of Mr Hu's thinking and shows how the current leadership is trying to make the transition between old and new China.
While this hardly affords them environmentalist or liberal credentials as known in the West, it nevertheless is an important signal.
Mr Xi was appointed as successor to Chen Liangyu, who was sacked and dishonoured for corruption earlier this year. He has said that Shanghai, the financial capital, would try and help the poor and do more for the environment, which contrasts with the message from his predecessor, who loved big-profile engineering projects and brought Formula One grand prix racing to China.
"Although Shanghai's energy consumption versus economic growth fell by the third best margin in the country - a good result - we still have not completed the task as set by the central government," said Mr Xi, who is expected to be elevated to the all-powerful politburo standing committee this week and who pledged allegiance to the notion of a "harmonious society".
"The goal of our development is for the people to enjoy the benefits of development," Mr Li told a discussion about the president's opening speech.
Elections for the nine-member standing committee are due to take place on Sunday, and orders have reportedly gone out for the 2,200-plus congress delegates to vote according to the leadership's wishes and avoid any unpleasant surprises. Displaying a unified front is a powerful symbol for the party's standing, both at home and internationally.