National Politics
After the 16th Party Congress in 2002, he has been a member of the 16th CPC Central Committee, a member of its Politburo and of the Politburo Standing Committee (PSC), the Party's central decision making body, and a member of the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee.
On 6 June 2003, Zeng issued an order "not to play or sing 'The Internationale' in any provincial, city or county level party or party member meetings." The move further characterized China's movement away from the traditional norms of communist doctrine.
Although Jiang stepped down from the PSC to make way for a younger "fourth generation" of leadership led by Hu Jintao, Jiang continued to wield significant influence with the help of Zeng. Due in large measure to Zeng's efforts, six out of the nine new members of the Standing Committee, Wu Bangguo, Jia Qinglin, Huang Ju, Wu Guanzheng, and Li Changchun, and Zeng himself, were linked to Jiang's "Shanghai Clique" and considered his allies. The 22-member Politburo was elected by the Party's central committee. Real power in Communist China lies with this committee, which works as a kind of inner cabinet and groups together the country’s most influential leaders. At the 2002 16th Party Congress, the Standing Committee was expanded to include nine members.
As Jiang Zemin reached the end of his term, many observers speculated that Jiang preferred Zeng Qinghong over Hu Jintao as his successor. But Hu prevailed in succeeding Jiang, ostensibly because Hu had the support of former leader Deng Xiaoping. Zeng subsequently became Vice-President in March 2003. During the SARS outbreak, Hu and Premier Wen Jiabao took very strong and assertive action while Zeng and other Jiang loyalists receded to the background. Zeng was also expected to succeed Hu as Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission as a condition of Jiang's resignation from the chairmanship in favor of Hu. However, when Jiang stepped down on 19 September 2004, Xu Caihou, and not Zeng, became Vice-chairman.
Read more about this topic: Zeng Qinghong
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