The expulsion of Hu Jintao from the Chinese Communist Party’s congress was the only real surprise of a tightly choreographed event confirming Xi Jinping’s ascendancy.
Unsurprisingly, there were almost no surprises at the landmark 20th Congress of the Chinese Communist Party that finished its week-long session yesterday.
It culminated with Xi Jinping leading the elite group of seven leaders who make up the Politburo Standing Committee (PBSC) out on to the stage at a backroom of the Great Hall of the People, in the tightly choreographed revelation of the country’s new leadership to commence his third five-year term as the CCP Secretary General.
Xi was confirmed as Chairman of the Central Military Commission in charge of the People’s Liberation Army, which answers not to the Chinese government or people but to the CCP. As Mao Zedong said: “Political power grows from the barrel of a gun.”
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