18th National Congress

The case of a Chinese Internet user that was detained by security forces for mocking the communist regime appears to have intensified recently, with his wife now isolating herself in an effort to placate the authorities.

The week-long Chinese Communist Party 18th Congress was supposed to end with journalists and broadcasters recording each minute of the pomp and circumstance. But the Fourth Estate was locked out. Inside, some rather unseemly antics were rumored to have taken place.

Xi was a compromise candidate agreeable to both the faction of former Party head Jiang Zemin and Hu Jintao, the current head of the Party.

All the elements in China are moving in the wrong direction, says author and analyst Gordon Chang.

The outcomes of the 18th National Congress represent consensus forged through backroom, secret dealings and struggles between these factions and other players in the communist apparatus.