Beijing replaces top policy thinker
Beijing replaces top policy thinker
Party apparatchik takes over from Zheng Bijian, the man behind 'peaceful rise' theory
By Chua Chin Hon, China Bureau Chief
BEIJING - MR ZHENG Bijian, the influential thinker behind China's 'peaceful rise' policy, has been officially replaced at a top Beijing think-tank by a party apparatchik, sources confirmed yesterday.
The decision, first reported by The Straits Times in June, was formalised earlier this month during an internal meeting involving members of the China Reform Forum (CRF) think-tank.
Mr Zheng's replacement as CRF chairman will be Mr Su Rong, 58, the executive vice-president of the elite Central Party School (CPS), which trains the next generation of Chinese leaders.
Mr Su will retain his appointment at the party school for now while it remains unclear what future role, if any, the 75-year-old Mr Zheng will play, sources said.
The senior scholar is seen as one of the most respected Chinese thinkers in recent years, having helped shape domestic and international opinion on the country's rise.
His thesis of 'peaceful rise'', which proposes a benign scenario for China's emergence as a global power, has since been adapted by Beijing as the framework of official rhetoric.
Mr Su, in comparison, has relatively little experience in research or academia, a point which has irked some scholars at the CRF. Prior to his appointment at the party school, Mr Su was the party secretary of north-western Gansu province.
China's influential Vice-President Zeng Qinghong is said to have presided over this latest personnel switch - one of the many changes expected in the party school and the broader political establishment in light of a major leadership reshuffle later this year.
Mr Zeng himself is widely expected to relinquish his concurrent appointment as president of the party school soon in favour of a younger leader who might be groomed to lead the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the country.
Training aside, the party school also serves the crucial objective of helping future Chinese leaders network with young and upcoming provincial cadres as well as military commanders. President Hu Jintao was appointed to head the CPS in 1993 soon after he was earmarked as China's 'fourth-generation leader'.
Some political observers thus expect Mr Hu to name a successor at the upcoming leadership meeting - called the 17th Party Congress - and then tap him to run the party school.
Mr Hu's preferred successor is widely rumoured to be Mr Li Keqiang, the top official of north-eastern Liaoning province. But there has been no clear sign that he has won out over other competing candidates, such as Shanghai's leader Mr Xi Jinping or Jiangsu's Mr Li Yuanchao.
The political uncertainty over the succession issue at this late stage hints at the limits of Mr Hu's power in the ruling party, and analysts expect horse-trading to be done right up to the last minute.
Beijing has not officially announced the date for the Congress, though media reports in recent weeks suggest that it could be held in the second or third week of October.
Party apparatchik takes over from Zheng Bijian, the man behind 'peaceful rise' theory
By Chua Chin Hon, China Bureau Chief
BEIJING - MR ZHENG Bijian, the influential thinker behind China's 'peaceful rise' policy, has been officially replaced at a top Beijing think-tank by a party apparatchik, sources confirmed yesterday.
The decision, first reported by The Straits Times in June, was formalised earlier this month during an internal meeting involving members of the China Reform Forum (CRF) think-tank.
Mr Zheng's replacement as CRF chairman will be Mr Su Rong, 58, the executive vice-president of the elite Central Party School (CPS), which trains the next generation of Chinese leaders.
Mr Su will retain his appointment at the party school for now while it remains unclear what future role, if any, the 75-year-old Mr Zheng will play, sources said.
The senior scholar is seen as one of the most respected Chinese thinkers in recent years, having helped shape domestic and international opinion on the country's rise.
His thesis of 'peaceful rise'', which proposes a benign scenario for China's emergence as a global power, has since been adapted by Beijing as the framework of official rhetoric.
Mr Su, in comparison, has relatively little experience in research or academia, a point which has irked some scholars at the CRF. Prior to his appointment at the party school, Mr Su was the party secretary of north-western Gansu province.
China's influential Vice-President Zeng Qinghong is said to have presided over this latest personnel switch - one of the many changes expected in the party school and the broader political establishment in light of a major leadership reshuffle later this year.
Mr Zeng himself is widely expected to relinquish his concurrent appointment as president of the party school soon in favour of a younger leader who might be groomed to lead the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the country.
Training aside, the party school also serves the crucial objective of helping future Chinese leaders network with young and upcoming provincial cadres as well as military commanders. President Hu Jintao was appointed to head the CPS in 1993 soon after he was earmarked as China's 'fourth-generation leader'.
Some political observers thus expect Mr Hu to name a successor at the upcoming leadership meeting - called the 17th Party Congress - and then tap him to run the party school.
Mr Hu's preferred successor is widely rumoured to be Mr Li Keqiang, the top official of north-eastern Liaoning province. But there has been no clear sign that he has won out over other competing candidates, such as Shanghai's leader Mr Xi Jinping or Jiangsu's Mr Li Yuanchao.
The political uncertainty over the succession issue at this late stage hints at the limits of Mr Hu's power in the ruling party, and analysts expect horse-trading to be done right up to the last minute.
Beijing has not officially announced the date for the Congress, though media reports in recent weeks suggest that it could be held in the second or third week of October.
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