Jiang of Jiang Hall
It began as mockery of a former leader. Now it has a strange life of its own
ONE of the least understood players in Chinese politics is the former president, Jiang Zemin. On August 17th he will celebrate his 90th birthday, yet he is still thought to exert influence. Rumours swirl in Beijing about strife between him and the current president, Xi Jinping. The life sentence imposed this week on a former general who was once close to Mr Jiang, Guo Boxiong, will fuel such speculation: Mr Guo is the highest ranking military officer to be jailed for corruption since the Communists seized power in 1949.
This article appeared in the China section of the print edition under the headline “Jiang of Jiang Hall”
China July 30th 2016
From the July 30th 2016 edition
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