Hu Jintao

Former Australian PM Kevin Rudd has suggested China will return to the political centre after current CCP leader Xi Jinping.

‘Xi Jinping has left no space for any contender. It did not matter what the former leadership wanted.’

Xi Jinping is under question by the party, a potential risk to his position, political observers say

Centenarian Xu Jiatun praises Xi Jinping’s anti-corruption campaign, and calls for bigger arrests.

The charter for the Association of Southeast Asia Nations emphasizes economic growth and principles that support cooperation, renunciation of the use of force, mutual respect for members, and rejection of external interference or coercion. ASEAN’s track record for peaceful resolution of disputes through consensus may be at risk as unity erodes, warns author and researcher Amitav Acharya. Members are divided about how to respond to China’s increasingly assertive influence in the region, particularly over claims in the South China Sea. ASEAN’s expansion in membership and functions, along with competing interests and reliance on China, contribute to the disunity. Acharya reminds that ASEAN began at the height of the Vietnam War in 1967 with five members—Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand; a decade later the group condemned Vietnam’s invasion of Cambodia as a threat to regional stability. ASEAN now has 10 members, and four have overlapping claims with China in the South China Sea. ASEAN could lose relevance by not taking a diplomatic stand on such issues.

According to a source in Beijing close to China’s top leadership, Chinese Communist Party leader Xi Jinping has made his first significant move against the former Party boss, and his chief rival, Jiang Zemin.

Chen Weili, daughter of Chen Yun, is the latest Party princeling to back Xi Jinping’s Party rectification drive.

Chinese investigators hauled away six-truck loads of gold, calligraphy works, and antiques from a secret stash. The valuables, worth 83.7 billion yuan (about $13.4 billion), was just one portion of the illegitimate wealth that Ling Jihua accumulated. Ling was a top aide to Hu Jintao, when Hu headed the Chinese Communist Party.

Zhang Wannian, former vice chairman of the Chinese regime’s Central Military Commission (CMC), passed away on Jan. 14 in Beijing. Zhang is mostly known for challenging the former Chinese leader Hu Jintao, and for his statement in 2000 when he threatened an imminent war with Taiwan.

Former Chinese communist leader Hu Jintao is said to have complained of how his predecessor Jiang Zemin interfered with his rule, a Hong Kong political magazine says.