POLICING THE
JASMINE
ZHOU YONGKANG WEIGHS IN
Over this past weekend, the ministers and provincial leaders of China were summoned to Beijing for a special "study session"; all nine top leaders (who make up the Standing Committee of the Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party) were in attendance. On Saturday, Hu Jintao, who is General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party as well as president of the People's Republic of China, called for "raising our level of control over virtual society, and perfecting our mechanisms for the channeling of public opinion online.”
Hu is Number One in the Chinese hierarchy. Sunday, Number Nine made his speech and won his turn in the spotlight. Zhou Yongkang (pictured above) is that Number Nine. Zhou's importance lies in his portfolio: domestic security. He basically called for nipping any potential social unrest problems in the bud.
As they were preaching, the authorities were already moving to nip in the bud any possible "Jasmine Revolution" inspired by what was going on in the Arab world -- by preventive detentions and preemptive police presence Sunday in the locales specified in Chinese-language tweets.
Bud nipped: so it would seem.
Leaving behind an interesting quote or two: This "event," said one (participant observer?), "didn't have much organization, but it's a chance to meet each other. It's like preparing for the future."
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