Major problems for new Chinese leader

A fatal car crash earlier this year has shaken the Chinese power structure and points to one of the gravest problems faced by new Communist Party chief Xi Jinping as he seeks to consolidate his leadership.

The accident involved the son of Ling Jihua, one of the top aides to then President Hu Jintao, who was killed in the crash along with one of two young women who were accompanying him.

As far as can be ascertained 23-year old Ling Gu died at the scene, yet shortly afterwards a message on his Facebook page proclaimed that he was alive and well and that his friends should not worry about him.

The message was a sham – an attempt to cover up a prime example of the partying, carousing lifestyle of the sons and daughters of China's ruling elite which is shocking the country and arousing resentment among the less fortunate.

Ling Gu was driving a Ferrari and he and his companions had been involved in a night of partying – not a good look for the leadership in a nation where 13 per cent of its 1.3 billion people still live on the poverty line of $1.25 a day.

It then emerged that the botched cover-up was engineered by Ling Jihua himself in an attempt to take the heat off his boss who was then involved in delicate negotiations over who his successor should be.

As a result, Hu's influence within the Politburo declined in favour of that of former President Jiang Zemin, who was able to ensure that his man, Xi Jinping, got the top job. As for Hu, he will carry almost no influence in the new administration having resigned all his secondary posts, including that of chairman of the military, which former leaders often retain.

The International Herald Tribune commented on the affair: 'The case also shows how the profligate lifestyles of leaders' relatives and friends can weigh heavily in backstage power tussles, especially as party skulduggery plays out under the intensifying glare of the media.'

As a result of this intensifying glare it is unlikely that the change in leadership will be the end of the story. Partly because of this and other problems, Xi has portrayed himself as a Mr Clean, pledging to implement the rule of law and tackling endemic Government corruption at all levels.

In a recent speech in the Great Hall of the People, XI spoke of curbing the powers of the Communist Party, firmly re-establishing the authority of the constitution and 'building a socialist nation ruled by law'.

He listed one of his targets as the over-lavish welcoming parties for foreign dignitaries, often attended by individuals who have no reason to be there other than their relationship with senior party officials.

However, China's problems go far deeper than that. The world has already been shocked by the disgrace of former rising star Bo Xilai, whose wife was accused of murdering a British businessman, and for developers and industrialists, it is just a case of putting money in the pockets of local corrupt officials to get free reign to build factories and pollute rivers at will, often disturbing and destroying entire villages in the process.

In recent times there have been examples of displaced people becoming increasingly restive. Protests, riots and even some deaths have been reported. By referring to the country's constitution, which enshrines freedom of speech, the media, religious beliefs and association, Xi is saying he will meet these injustices head on.

There are signs that some limited form of protest is being allowed. In one highly-publicised example, Greenpeace China was able to graphically illustrate how factories supplying clothes to brands such as Levi's and Calvin Klein were releasing toxic waste into river systems, using sham waste treatments to get round pollution laws.

Greenpeace East Asia official Li Yifang said that the Qiantang River had, in effect, become poisonous because of these actions, even though it provides drinking water for the city of Hangzhou.

Greenpeace was allowed to set up and film mannequins in Levi's and Calvin Klein jeans, ankle deep in toxic sludge to illustrate the point – an act which in the past would probably have resulted in summary arrests.

China's internal troubles are also damaging their international image. In Taiwan, which China regards as one of its provinces and is trying to woo back into the fold with closer commercial and personal ties, there has been an outburst of protest against a map in new Chinese passports which depicts the island state as part of the People's Republic.

The move has prompted the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party to issue stickers to be placed on the back of Taiwanese passports saying 'Taiwan is my country'. A spokesman for the party claimed that the Government 'had not done enough to protest against this serious violation of our sovereignty.'

Meanwhile, China's expansion into the South China Sea is now being more vigorously opposed by Taiwan, Vietnam and the Philippines, in a war of words and actions over groups of disputed islands there. Vietnam is setting up patrols which it says are necessary to protect its fisheries.

On the wider stage, Governments, including those of Malaysia and Singapore, have made it clear that they want a continued United States presence in east and south-east Asia as an insurance against Chinese expansionism.

All this and more confronts Xi as he attempts to present a more acceptable Chinese face to the world.