China146;s Communists aim for more accountability

Chinese president Hu Jintao and other members of the Communist Party8217;s ruling inner core...

Chinese president Hu Jintao and other members of the Communist Party8217;s ruling inner core, the Politburo, will be accountable to a wider party membership under potentially far-reaching reforms pledged by Hu himself on Monday.

Hu made the pledge as part of efforts to find viable checks and balances to curb official corruption but made it clear the Communist Party would continue to monopolise power in the world8217;s most populous nation and fourth-biggest economy. 8220;We will establish a healthy system under which the Politburo regularly reports its work to plenary sessions of the Central Committee and accepts oversight,8221; Hu told more than 2,200 delegates at the opening of the Party8217;s 17th Congress. He did not elaborate.

Hu sits on the decision-making Politburo, which is down to 22 full members and one alternate after Vice Premier Huang Ju died in June and Shanghai Party boss Chen Liangyu lost his job in September last year. Chen faces trial for corruption.

The Central Committee, ranked one notch below the Politburo, has 198 members, whose five-year term ends this week. A new Central Committee will be elected on Sunday.

8220;We will explore various ways to expand intra-Party democracy at the grassroots level,8221; Hu said.8220;We must enforce stricter oversight over the whole process of selecting and appointing cadres.8221;

Delegates were mum on just how internally competitive elections to the new Central Committee would be, or even if there would be more candidates than seats for promotion to the elite Politburo.

But Li Yuanchao, who leads Jiangsu province, said this year8217;s Congress had already shown more signs of openness.

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8220;In the drafting process of the party Congress report and the drafting of amendments to the party constitution, the party has broadened the scope of inner-party democracy,8221; he told reporters at a meeting of his province8217;s delegation.