Taiwan/China Questions, Part II

Monday September 24, by Jerome F. Keating Ph.D.

In Communist China, the 18th National Congress is approaching; it should probably be sometime in October. Thus an obvious and natural question is why has not the date for such a momentous and important undertaking been announced? October is fast approaching. This Congress will highlight the transference of power in the party and the country, and yet the stage is not yet set??

Obviously there are not only some loose ends that need to be tied up, but also there is the reality that what may have seemed to be a set deal a year ago has suddenly unraveled.

At issue is the fall from grace and power of Bo Xilai, the Chongqing Communist Party Chief who once seemed on track for a position in the select Politburo Standing Committee. Side players in this drama are the deceased Neil Heywood, apparently murdered. Bo's wife, Gu Kailai, the apparent murderer and Wang Lijun, Bo's former head of police and right hand man who apparently helped cover up this murder.

Why do we use the word "apparently?" That is just the beginning of questions that are raised by and which all must be resolved, at least on the surface, before the 18th National Congress in China. How can such swift justice be achieved in sho short a time? That also is a question whose answer some might admire for its swiftness, but others would worry about its pat, Cracker-Jack Box style of tidiness. More to follow.