HONG KONG -- Ever since Hu Jintao took over as general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party in 2002 and assumed the presidency in 2003, there has been much speculation as to whether he really wields the powers of those offices or whether his predecessor, Jiang Zemin, who remains head of the armed forces, is actually the power behind the throne.
It is certainly true that as long as Jiang is chairman of the Central Military Commission, with Hu as his deputy, the party leader and head of state -- as well as Premier Wen Jiabao -- must be constantly aware of the presence and the wishes of his predecessor. Fortunately, however, there does not appear to be any major difference between the two men in terms of broad policies.
Moreover, Hu is clearly able to define his own agenda, though he is sensitive to policy areas that are especially important to Jiang, in particular the Hong Kong issue. This is because Jiang was the one who picked Tung Chee-hwa to be Hong Kong's chief executive, not once but twice.