An add to the post below about the replacement of the Finance Minister. It was formally announced yesterday along with some other changes in the cabinet. As I said expect more to come. This is merely an appetizer for Zhongnanhai (the Communist Party HQ in Beijing) junkies and tea leaf readers who will be jiggling with impatience in the 6 weeks remaining until the 17th Party Congress is held here in Beijing. Then, presumably, we’ll see some real movement, signs of how much President Hu Jintao has managed to consolidated his grip on power, whether an heir presumptive will be anointed as Hu himself was way back when, (or not, which would itself be interesting as it would suggest that Hu is setting himself up to serve longer than the two terms –ten years– that is the current unwritten rule), whether eminence grise Zeng Qinghong will retire (don’t bet on it) or manage to hang on, etc etc. 特别好玩儿! as we say here in the Northern Capital.
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Protesters challenge Israeli troops in the West Bank while commemorating the Nakba, or “day of catastrophe” in Arabic, which marks the day when Israel declared its statehood in 1948—an act which forced thousands of Palestinians out of their homes and into a life of exile
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