Everything you need to know about the 19th National Congress
Golden Week holidays may have just ended, but the holiday standstill is expected to continue (in Beijing at least) ahead of China’s most important meeting in years. In the next week, almost 2,300 delegates will be making the trek to Beijing as the Chinese Communist Party holds a once-in-every-five-years Party meeting.
What is the National Party Congress?
Kicking off on Wednesday 18 October and running for ten days, the National Party Congress is a twice-a-decade leadership reshuffle during which delegates elected from 40 electoral units, including military, Government agencies and state-owned corporations gather together to vote for the Party’s Central Committee and top anti-corruption body.
Who are the big players?
For those putting together a fantasy Party league, five of the seven members of the Party’s top body (the Politburo Standing Committee) are set to retire this year, putting their positions up for grabs. Meanwhile, MVPs President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang are all but assured second terms after showing particularly strong form.
Current members of the Politburo Standing Committee.
What does it mean for us in Shanghai?
There's increased security for passengers taking the train between Hongqiao and Beijing South stations, WhatsApp might be on the blink and certain gifs using images of President Xi Jinping also can’t be posted to group chats on WeChat. Also, chances are, your VPN might struggle for a bit. And according to an official from the China International Travel Service Ltd, foreigners are also prohibited from visiting Tibet during the Congress, with the ban expected to be lifted in late October.