The Hindu : Front Page : Hu acquires commanding presence

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Sep 20, 2004

Front Page

Hu acquires commanding presence

By P. S. Suryanarayana

SINGAPORE, SEPT. 19. The Chinese President, Hu Jintao, today assumed charge as Chairman of the powerful Central Military Commission (CMC) of the governing Communist Party of China (CPC). With this, Mr. Hu acquires a commanding political presence at the highest echelons of China's power structure, according to regional diplomats.

Holding the pivotal post of General Secretary of the CPC, besides being the President of China, Mr. Hu has now succeeded Jiang Zemin as the CMC Chairman. Mr. Jiang remained at the helm of the CMC, even as he successively relinquished the post of General Secretary of the CPC in November 2002 and that of China's President in March 2003. Both these positions went to Mr. Hu.

Today's turn of events, fully approved by the 16th CPC Central Committee, which concluded its four-day fourth plenum in Beijing, marks a complete transfer of power and authority from Mr. Jiang to Mr. Hu.

Unanimous agreement

Accepting Mr. Jiang's resignation from the post of Chairman of the CMC, the plenum "unanimously agreed" that Mr. Hu's assumption of this position "is conducive to upholding the fundamental principle and system of the party's absolute leadership over the military'', according to a communiqué that was released at the conclusion of the sessions.

The plenum further noted that the change "is also conducive to the strengthening of the military's revolutionisation, modernisation and regularisation process."

At the same time, the plenum "highly evaluated Comrade Jiang Zemin's outstanding contributions to the party, the state and the people." Providing an informal and `personal' interpretation of today's event, an authoritative Chinese source told The Hindu that Mr. Hu's assumption of the new post, while being significant, was a "follow-up" action, given that he had already become the CPC General Secretary and China's President when Mr. Jiang handed over those posts.

Leader at the helm

Mr. Hu is now at the helm of not only the political affairs of state but also the military establishment, the source underlined.

In what appeared to be a virtual farewell to Mr. Jiang at the centre-stage of China's politics and public administration, the CPC plenum said he had, during the past 15 years as the CMC Chairman, "grasped the development trends of new military reforms in the world with his great insight."

Enriching the army-building ideas of Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping, Mr. Jiang founded the `thought,' now associated with his name, "for national defence and army-building," the communiqué quoted the plenum as having said.

Under his leadership, it was noted, China's "national defence and army modernisation process has achieved tremendous success."

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Front Page

News Update

Stories in this Section

"Please don't get angry with your shishya"

'India to carry forward economic reforms'

Terror must be checked for talks with Pakistan: Manmohan

Pakistan asserts supremacy

Congress, NCP finalise seat-sharing agreement

Hu acquires commanding presence

EDUSAT: turning homes into classrooms