Party leaders meet in session Scholarship recipients to face tougher evaluation
Revised code of conduct will mark Xi’s bid for stronger power base
BEIJING: The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) started an annual leadership meeting and a key outcome could be a revised code of conduct for party cadres, targeting even those at the apex Politburo Standing Committee (PSC).
Analysts say the revision, along with updates to another regulation on intra-party supervision, is being made as part of President Xi Jinping’s bid to deepen his power base ahead of the 19th Party Congress late next year, where China will form a new leadership team.
In a report by Xinhua in late July on the revised code, it said that the focus was on the political conduct of senior cadres, including those in the 376-member Central Committee, the 25-member Politburo and the seven-member PSC.
Professor Bo Zhiyue of the Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand said it was unusual for the CCP to openly single out top leaders as the target of a regulation.
“The sharp language was likely used to send a warning from Xi and his supporters to other top leaders that they should submit to his authority or the revised code would be used against them,” Professor Bo said.
The closed-door meeting, which is taking place at a hotel in western Beijing, is the sixth plenary session of the Central Committee and is one of the seven plenums held in each of its five-year terms.
While plenums are usually predictable affairs, there is higher interest this year as it signals the start of preparations for the 19th Party Congress and could offer clues on the strength of top leaders in securing plum roles for their allies.
The sixth plenum traditionally puts up a shortlist of the new Central Committee, which will be finalised at the seventh plenum that takes place days before a party congress.
Five out of the seven PSC members except Xi and Premier Li Keqiang and a third of the Politburo are expected to retire next year due to the unofficial age limit of 68.
But there has been talk that Xi is seeking to extend the tenure of disciplinary chief Wang Qishan, despite the latter turning 68 this July.
Analysts are also watching for signs that Xi, 63, would be seeking to extend his own 10-year term, due to end in 2022.
To succeed, Xi will have to use the sixth plenum to prepare an agenda for the 19th Party Congress that is in line with his wishes, said Beijingbased political analyst Francesco Sisci. — The Straits Times/ Asia News Network BEIJING: An official with China’s government scholarship council said it will tighten the evaluation of scholarship recipients from overseas to ensure the funds are properly used.
The evaluation system was introduced in 2002, and 1,171 recipients of the national scholarship have lost the approval needed to receive scholarship money, said Cao Shihai, deputy secretary-general of China Scholarship Council.
Cao spoke at the four-day 17th China Annual Conference for International Education, held in Beijing through Sunday.
The council, which reports to the Ministry of Education, issues and administers the national scholarships.
Most of the suspensions or deprivations resulted from the students’ bad attitude toward studies, or a breach of their Chinese universities regulations and rules, he said.
The government has not historically released the total number of government scholarship recipients or the amount of money earmarked for the national scholarships.
But according to recent council data, the number of recipients has been increasing quickly as more students come to study in China.
In 2011, almost 26,000 students from across the world received national government scholarships.
That grew to more than 40,000 students last year, accounting for 10% of students studying in China.
The measures, including tightening the annual reviews of the recipients performance, will help better manage the funds and improve the quality of education, Cao said.