Willy’s Corner
China’s Secret War Games and the Kitty Hawk Affair Flip-Flop
Large-scale air and naval maneuvers off China’s southeast coast last week demonstrated the post-17th Party Congress leadership’s determination to project hard power in view of escalating tension in the Taiwan Strait. The week-long war games, which coincided with Beijing’s sudden cancellation of the USS Kitty... MORE
China’s Secret War Games and the Kitty Hawk Affair Flip-Flop
Large-scale air and naval maneuvers off China’s southeast coast last week demonstrated the post-17th Party Congress leadership’s determination to project hard power in view of escalating tension in the Taiwan Strait. The week-long war games, which coincided with Beijing’s sudden cancellation of the USS Kitty... MORE
Post-Congress Appointments Motivated by Factional and Ideological Biases, Not Reform
With the just-ended 17th Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Congress marking the mid-point of his ten-year tenure, General Secretary and President Hu Jintao is a man in a hurry. There is little wonder why after consolidating his grip over the party, state and army, the “new... MORE
Post-Congress Appointments Motivated by Factional and Ideological Biases, Not Reform
With the just-ended 17th Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Congress marking the mid-point of his ten-year tenure, General Secretary and President Hu Jintao is a man in a hurry. There is little wonder why after consolidating his grip over the party, state and army, the “new... MORE
Hu’s Impasse at the 17th Party Congress
The selection of the new Beijing leadership, which will be endorsed by the ongoing 17th Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Congress, has revealed disturbing schisms among the major factions and, in particular, President Hu Jintao’s failure to establish overriding authority five years after acceding to the... MORE
Reorienting the 17th Party Congress: Boosting Unity and Thwarting Taiwan
Nearly overnight, the focus of the 17th Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Congress has shifted from the debate regarding Chinese political and economic reform to the promotion of internal party unity and the combating of Taiwan’s proposed referendum. This change has come about due to increasing... MORE
Limited Reforms: Status Quo at the 17th Party Congress
The liberal faction of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is doing eleventh-hour lobbying to have genuine political reform included in the agenda of the upcoming 17th Party Congress. Yet all signs point to the fact that General Secretary and President Hu Jintao will only promote... MORE
Hu’s Economic Policies: Liberalizing the Economy or Promoting Special Interests?
While widely recognized as holding conservative ideological and political views, the Hu Jintao leadership has been given reasonably high marks for pushing forward economic reforms first initiated by the late patriarch Deng Xiaoping. According to World Trade Organization provisions, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has... MORE
Hu’s Economic Policies: Liberalizing the Economy or Promoting Special Interests?
While widely recognized as holding conservative ideological and political views, the Hu Jintao leadership has been given reasonably high marks for pushing forward economic reforms first initiated by the late patriarch Deng Xiaoping. According to World Trade Organization provisions, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has... MORE
Power Pact: Hu’s Symbiotic Relations with the PLA
As the People’s Liberation Army celebrates its 80th birthday on August 1, President and Commander-in-chief Hu Jintao will have myriad reasons to feel elated. Since becoming chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC) three years ago, the military-affairs neophyte has not only consolidated his grip... MORE