(Adds comment from newspaper, analyst)
By Chris Buckley
BEIJING, April 6 (Reuters) – China’s top military newspaper
told troops on Friday to ignore rumours on the Internet and
steel themselves for “ideological struggle” as the ruling
Communist Party faces a leadership transition, in a sign of
jitters in Beijing.
The Liberation Army Daily did not mention outlandish rumours
of a foiled coup in Beijing that spread on the Internet in past
weeks, after the abrupt ousting of Bo Xilai, an ambitious
contender for a spot in the new central leadership to be
unveiled at a party congress later this year.
A front-page commentary in the newspaper, however, left no
doubt the party leadership wants to inoculate People’s
Liberation Army (PLA) troops against rumours that could corrode
the authority of President Hu Jintao, who also serves as head of
the party and chairman of the Central Military Commission, which
commands the PLA.
The paper admonished soldiers to “resolutely resist the
incursion of all kinds of erroneous ideas, not be disturbed by
noise, not be affected by rumours, and not be drawn by
undercurrents, and ensure that at all times and under all
circumstances the military absolutely obeys the command of the
Party central leadership, the Central Military Commission and
Chairman Hu.”
Although the coup rumours were unfounded, their spread and
the government’s tightening of Internet controls and warnings to
ignore such talk have raised jitters about stability after Bo’s
fall.
In addition, the military has been shaken by a separate
corruption scandal in the run-up to the party leadership change,
said Chen Ziming, an independent scholar of politics in Beijing.
“I think both incidents generated tensions and uncertainty,
and in the military the case of Gu Junshan is a source of
tensions,” said Chen, referring to PLA Lieutenant General Gu,
whose downfall for apparent corruption emerged this year.
“Before previous recent party congresses, the Internet was
not such a factor, and structural factors, including the big
turnover of leaders, are adding to uncertainty now,” he said.
The newspaper commentary directed at the military builds on
a series of official comments aimed at reinforcing the party’s
grip on opinion after an unsettling two months at a time the
leadership prizes stability.
“MISTAKEN WORDS”
In late March, authorities shut 16 Chinese websites and
detained six people accused of spreading rumours about unusual
military movements and security in the capital, feeding talk of
an attempted coup or schism in the leadership.
The rumours fed on speculation about the ousting of Bo, who
in mid-March was removed as party boss of Chongqing city in
southwest China, over a month after his vice mayor, Wang Lijun,
fled to a U.S. consulate, triggering a scandal exposing
accusations of infighting and abuses of power.
Charismatic Bo had wrapped himself in populist rhetoric and
egalitarian vows, and his removal has stirred open opposition
from leftist supporters who see him as the victim of a plot.
Despite Bo’s fall, the party’s leadership transition appears
on track, with Vice President Xi Jinping’s rising profile
leaving little doubt that he will succeed Hu.
The Liberation Army Daily has mentioned nothing about Bo or
the rumours, nor Gu’s case, in a string of comments over the
past week aimed at stressing loyalty to the party and to Hu.
“Conscientiously resist all kinds of mistaken words and
actions damaging to the party’s image and unity, and do not heed
or believe all kinds of hearsay and dark stories,” the paper
said last Sunday.
On Friday, it said the military must maintain a tight grip
on troops’ access to the Internet in the middle of what it
called an “ideological struggle” before the 18th Communist Party
congress late this year, when Hu and his cohort will retire.
“Historical experience shows that whenever the party and
country faces major issues, and whenever reform and development
reach a crucial juncture, struggle in the ideological arena
becomes even more intense and complex,” said the newspaper.
“We must pay close attention to the impact of the Internet,
mobile phones and other new media on the thinking of officers
and troops,” it said.
(Editing by Robert Birsel)
