BEIJING, March 16: Chinese President Jiang Zemin today secured an emphatic double by getting re-elected to the posts of head of state and chairman of the Central Military Commission while outgoing premier Li Peng was elected chairman of China's Parliament, but with the maximum number of `no' votes. Standing Committee member of the politburo of the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC) Hu Jintao was elected as Vice-President replacing Rong Yiren.While all the three were expected to be elected due to their high ranking in the Communist party hierarchy, the only interest for `China watchers' were the margin of their victory, especially in the face of massive retrenchment expected from the Chinese Central Government ministries as part of the ambitious institutional restructuring unveiled this month.Jiang, Li and Hu will hold their respective posts for the next five years.President Jiang, 71, who is also general secretary of the CPC, won the support of 2,882 deputies (97.79 per cent). Twenty-nine deputiesabstained (0.98 per cent).To the post of chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), the Communist nation's leading military organ, Jiang secured the backing of 2,893 deputies (98.17 per cent). Twenty-nine votes (0.98 per cent) went against him while 25 abstained (0.85 per cent).Li, who has completed two successive five-year terms as premier, is considered a political conservative. He replaces Qiaoshi, who was eased out of the Communist party's leadership at last year's 15th party congress.Sources said there was some resentment over Li's candidature as head of China's Legislature. In 1989, it is reported that it was Li who declared martial law, opening the way for a military assault to break up the pro-democracy protesters here at Tiananmen Square. This crackdown had led to several deaths and arrest of a number of people, including students on charges like plotting to overthrow the Communist Party-led government. Young turk, Hu Jintao, 56, was elected at the National People's Congress (NPC)session as Vice-President. Though the post of Vice-president is considered an honorary one, analysts say Hu may be the future `core' leader of the Communist party of China.All the three top leaders were elected at the fourth plenary meeting of the first session of the ninth NPC, China's Parliament.The whole election process lasted one hour and 50 minutes. The NPC also elected 19 vice-chairmen of the ninth NPC. He Chunlin was elected secretary-general of the ninth NPC Standing Committee. Altogether 134 people were elected members of the ninth NPC standing committee.While elections to the post of President, vice-president of the country and chairman of the central military commission were conducted by way of one-candidate-for-one-post, the Standing Committee members were elected through a multi-candidate system.A total of 2,947 NPC deputies out of 2,979 were present at today's plenary meeting to elect the new trans-century leadership.The same deputies will meet tomorrow to elect a new premierfor China in place of Li Peng who will step down.The new premier is expected to be Zhu Rongji, vice-premier and economic Czar of the Communist nation. He is China's main economic policymaker since 1993 and a former mayor of Shanghai, the booming metropolis in the eastern coast.Zhu, 69, successfully put controls on overheated growth and brought inflation down from 22 per cent in 1994 to less than one per cent last year without plunging the economy into a recession. China's economy grew at 8.8 per cent last year and this year it is estimated to grow at eight per cent.Li Peng will remain at the second position in the Communist party hierarchy, behind Jiang Zemin, analysts said.
