PLENUM CLOSING COMMUNIQUE FOCUSES ON HU'S

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BEIJING 021533 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/11/2016 TAGS: PGOV CH SUBJECT: PLENUM CLOSING COMMUNIQUE FOCUSES ON HU'S "HARMONIOUS SOCIETY," MAKES NO MENTION OF PERSONNEL CHANGES REF: A. BEIJING 20986 ¶B. BEIJING 20677 ¶C. BEIJING 20360 Classified By: Political Internal Unit Chief Susan Thornton. Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). Summary -------------- ¶1. (C) The Chinese Communist Party's Sixth Party Plenum closed on October 11 and issued a communique highlighting Hu Jintao's "Socialist Harmonious Society" concept. There was no mention of personnel changes, including no reference to any action on deposed Shanghai Party Secretary Chen Liangyu. While the communique contains few surprises, the Party's decision to formally adopt Hu's ideological concept indicates that Hu is clearly in charge. The October 8-11 Plenum took place during a week full of distractions, including the visit of Japanese Prime Minister Abe and the North Korean nuclear test, which drew attention away from what is normally one of the Party's grandest events. End summary and comment. Plenum Closes, Issues Communique on Harmonious Society -------------- -------------- ¶2. (C) The Sixth Plenary Session (Plenum) of the 16th Communist Party Central Committee closed on October 11 and issued a communique that was broadcast on the official CCTV news that evening. According to the communique, Hu Jintao gave an "important" speech and delivered the Politburo's work report. Wu Banguo explained the draft "Decision" on construction of a socialist harmonious society, which was then formally adopted by the Plenum. ¶3. (C) The communique focused on Hu Jintao's concept of building a socialist harmonious society, stating that it should be given greater prominence in the Party's work. Drawing on familiar populist themes associated with Hu, the communique repeatedly referred to the need to deal with societal problems and create a more just and equal society, while at the same time maintaining economic growth. The importance of the Party's leading role in creating a harmonious society was repeated throughout. Emphasis was also given to promotion of a socialist value system based on Hu's slogan referring to "honors and disgraces." No Mention of Personnel Changes -------------- ¶4. (C) The communique made no mention of personnel changes, including no reference to deposed Shanghai Party Secretary Chen Liangyu, who was a major focus in the runup to the Plenum (Refs A, C) and did not appear to be in attendance. Nevertheless, partly in reference to the Chen case, the communique stressed the need to strengthen anti-corruption and oversight efforts, and to make local cadres responsible for resolving social conflicts. All current members of the Politburo Standing Committee, including the ailing Huang Ju, were shown repeatedly during the CCTV broadcast that announced the communique. Timeframe Set for 17th Party Congress -------------- ¶5. (C) Following past Party practice, the Plenum adopted a Decision to hold the 17th Party Congress in "the last half of 2007" in Beijing, according to the communique. No other discussion of the Party Congress, at which the next generation of leaders will be elevated to the Politburo, was mentioned. Comment: Hu Jintao In Command -------------- ¶6. (C) Although the Plenum communique contains few, if any, surprises, the lack of any mention of personnel changes leaves the status of Chen Liangyu's position on the Politburo unresolved for now. What, if anything, was discussed regarding personnel issues may begin to trickle out in the coming weeks. In any case, the formal Central Committee Decision to approve Hu's "harmonious society" concept indicates that Hu Jintao is clearly in control of the Party's direction. The communique's complete lack of drama lies in stark contrast to the striking events of the past week. Public interest was focused primarily on the visit of Japanese Prime Minister Abe, which took place on the opening day of the Plenum, and the North Korean nuclear test the following day. Both these events drew the public's -- and perhaps the leadership's -- attention away from what is BEIJING 00021533 002 OF 002 normally one of the Party's grandest events. SEDNEY