Hu may have feared that a full revelation of Bo’s crimes would have damaged the Party beyond repair. He may have also feared that Bo’s political allies would have taken revenge on him for his handling of Bo or even prevented Hu from acting.
By temporizing, Hu has left the issue of the guilt of Bo and Jiang’s faction as a time bomb that will blow up in the future with unknown repercussions.
Allying with Premier Wen Jiabao, who describes himself as lonely voice for reform, Hu could have discontinued the policies of persecution that have so damaged China’s national life, prevented healthy change from occurring, and stopped China from truly becoming a great power.
Instead, Bo has so far been left with a political career. That career may be on life support, but others have made extraordinary returns from near elimination. Consider Deng Xiaoping. He rose to paramount power after being demoted three times.
Hu Exiting
As Hu washes his hands of the Jiang faction’s guilt, he also appears to be withdrawing from responsibility altogether. There are rumors that Hu is stepping down from all his posts.
Deng Xiaoping and Jiang Zemin held onto control of the military after giving up the headship of the Party. This practice assured that the former Party leader continued to have real power.
Hu apparently intended to follow in the footsteps of Deng and Jiang. Hu has made every effort to win the loyalty of China’s military leaders in anticipation of continuing as chairman of the Military Committee for two more years.
But now, instead of keeping the chairmanship of the Military Committee, Hu is said to be pushing his favorite, upcoming premier Li Keqiang, to be the vice chair of the Military Committee. Li has no previous ties to the military or any military experience.
If Li gains the post, he will not have any real power, and his possibility of surviving a power struggle down the road is questionable.
The recent demotion of Hu’s former chief of staff increases the impression that Hu is a figure who is rapidly laying down any power he might hold.
Ling Jihua has by all accounts served Hu ably for the past five years, with the reputation of being Hu’s most trusted and sought-after advisor. Ling is the one who did the tough work of bringing down those who served Bo.
Ling is being replaced as chief of staff by Xi’s choice, Li Zhanshu. This is natural, as Xi will want to have his own man in this sensitive post.
Observers had expected Ling to become the next Beijing Party chief. In that position, he would be a sure pick for the Politburo and a candidate in the future for the Politburo’s Standing Committee, the elite body that runs the CCP.
Instead, the Party announced on Aug. 28 that Ling was being shunted to a much less influential post. He will head the United Front Department, the agency that seeks to isolate enemies of the CCP and to form alliances with other organizations, particularly outside China.
China analysts are scrambling to make sense of the marginalization of Ling Jihua. One school thinks Hu made the decision because he is elevating the United Front Department’s importance. The other claims that Hu is facing strong resistance from his opponents and losing control.
Of course, the Chinese regime’s politics occur mostly inside a black box, and without inside information, no one is really sure what is going on.
As the 18th Party Congress approaches and with it the once-in-a-decade installation of the Party’s new, top leadership, the news about Hu suggests a power vacuum at a critical time.
Click www.ept.ms/ccp-crisis to read about the most recent developments in the ongoing crisis within the Chinese communist regime. In this special topic, we provide readers with the necessary context to understand the situation. Get the RSS feed. Get the new interactive Timeline of Events. Who are the Major Players? 
Since the Wang-Bo scandal broke out, military leaders have kept making public appeals demanding the soldiers and officers to be loyal to the Party and to Hu himself. The need to appeal in this way for loyalty suggests the military’s loyalty cannot be counted on.
A news story on Aug. 29 deepens the feeling that things are falling apart in Beijing.
China International Airlines flight CA981 was seven hours into its flight to New York City when it had to turn around and return to Beijing. The rumors are that a high-ranking official was trying to defect or run away. Witnesses saw three people arrested in the Beijing Airport. Another political scandal is yet to be revealed.
Michael Young, a Chinese-American writer based in Washington, D.C., writes on China and the Sino-U.S. relationship.
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