Li Peng bent on holding power

By Willy Wo-Lap Lam
CNN.com Senior China Analyst

National People's Congress Chairman Li Peng is trying to prolong his influence by pushing for the promotion of key protégé Luo Gan at the 16th Congress of the Communist Party.

Li's position has since the middle of last year been undercut by innuendo about the business practices of his relatives and underlings. And the just-published Tiananmen Papers has confirmed the role that Li, a former premier, played at the June 4, 1989 crackdown.

A party source said Li, 72, had largely lost his battle to hang on to a formal post after the congress, scheduled for the second half of 2002. Li is expected to retire from the Politburo Standing Committee at the pivotal conclave -- and from the NPC soon afterwards.

However, Li is understood to want to preserve his influence so as to protect himself and his family members.

"Li has repeatedly told [President] Jiang Zemin that he wants to become state president in 2003," the source said. "Li has argued that while he will be 74 in 2003, previous holders of that position were older when they were first appointed."

The source added, however, that Jiang had turned down Li's request, citing the fact that all senior cadres should follow the retire-at-70 rule. Moreover, Jiang has already decided that heir-apparent Vice President Hu Jintao, 58, should be made president.

Lobbying for promotion

Li had told Jiang that Luo, a Politburo member in charge of law and order, should be inducted into the Politburo Standing Committee as the cadre in charge of the Central Commission for Disciplinary Inspection (CCDI). The CCDI has ultimate authority over the investigation and prosecution of officials suspected of corruption and other crimes.

"Li's point is that since Luo is a veteran specialist on law and order, he is much more qualified for the job than other candidates such as Shanghai Party Secretary Huang Ju, who is Jiang's protégé," the diplomat said.

It is understood Li had cited the example of Han Zhubin to illustrate the importance of recruiting experienced cadres for top positions.

At the 1998 NPC session, a surprisingly large number of deputies expressed reservations about the appointment of Han, a former head of the Ministry of Railways, as procurator-general, China's equivalent of the head of the state prosecutor's office. While he eventually got the job, Han and his mentor, Jiang, suffered considerable humiliation.

Beijing analysts said the chances of Luo, who is in charge of the thankless crusade against the Falun Gong quasi-Buddhist sect, were not exactly high.

Top graft-buster job

Apart from Jiang, other Politburo Standing Committee members such as Premier Zhu Rongji and the incumbent CCDI chief, Wei Jianxing, were also lobbying for their own candidates to get the top graft-buster job.

The analysts said Li had been on the defensive since the incarceration -- and later execution -- last year of former associate Cheng Kejie.

A former NPC vice chairman, Cheng was convicted of corruption and other economic crimes. Li reportedly tried to persuade Jiang that Cheng's life be spared.

Earlier this month, a couple of former Li associates in the power industry, including a former vice-minister of power Cha Keming, were detained for alleged corruption. Other former underlings of the NPC chairmen were last year implicated in graft cases related to the Three Gorges project.

Moreover, one of Li's sons is reportedly linked to the now-defunct Xinguoda Futures Brokerage, which milked at least 4,000 investors of 500 million yuan before it was closed down by the authorities in 1998. The son has not appeared in public for a long time.

Beijing analysts said Li and his family would feel a lot more at ease if Luo managed to get the CCDI position, and with it, the power to decide who to go after for corruption.

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