Tiananmen mayor purged from leadership

RAYMOND WHITAKER

and agencies

China's Communist Party leadership yesterday expelled the disgraced former mayor of Peking, Chen Xitong, and made changes to the powerful Central Military Commission in decisions which appear to strengthen President Jiang Zemin in the contest to succeed the country's supreme leader, Deng Xiaoping.

Mr Chen's ejection from the party's Central Committee and Politburo had been expected after he became by far the most senior victim of the recent campaign against corruption. The Central Committee, which ended a four- day meeting yesterday, said he "led a dissolute, extravagant life, abused his power to seek illegal interests for his relatives and accepted valuable gifts for his own use ... His mistakes are serious."

However, the committee stopped short of revoking Mr Chen's party membership or publicly ordering criminal prosecution. Such drastic action against so prominent a figure could have set off a revolt among senior party member who might have reason to fear that Mr Jiang might turn on them next.

Mr Chen, 65, is loathed by China's pro-democracy forces for his role in suppressing the Tiananmen Square demonstrations six years ago. As Peking's mayor and party secretary he was officially responsible for calling in the army, which massacred several hundred protesters on 4 June 1989, but that enhanced his standing in the party. His downfall began with the sensational suicide of a former assistant, Wang Baosen, who shot himself in April after coming under investigation for economic crimes. Even then Mr Chen might have escaped such severe treatment if he had not also been seen as a hardline opponent of Mr Jiang's ambitions.

The anti-corruption drive is regarded by President Jiang as essential to keeping the Communist Party in power, with himself at its head, after the death of the 91-year-old Mr Deng. The supremacy of the party was also enshrined as the central aim of the new five-year plan approved by the Central Committee, as an accompanying statement made clear. "The key to fulfilling the Ninth Five-Year Plan and reaching the long-term target for the year 2010 is to strengthen and improve the party leadership," it said.

Although the policy of breakneck economic growth has enriched many, the party has never come up with a coherent ideological basis for it. Yesterday's communique made ritual mention of strengthening agriculture and rejuvenating the country's hugely expensive state enterprises, but in both sectors there have been recent signs of a retreat from any attempt to impose the disciplines of the market.

The changes to the Central Military Commission, which was enlarged from seven members to nine, are also seen as reinforcing Mr Jiang's position among the military, which remains extremely influential. The appointment to the commission of General Wang Ruilin, 66, the head of Mr Deng's personal office, attracted the most attention. Once considered a possible rival to Mr Jiang, Gen Wang now appears to have moved into the president's camp. General Chi Haotian, the Minister of Defence, and General Zhang Wannian, the chief of staff, who were appointed as vice-chairmen of the commission, are both considered to be supporters of Mr Jiang.