SINGAPORE -- China needs stability as it faces one of its most radical economic, social, cultural and political transforma- tions in history. This message was clearly delivered during the National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing three weeks ago. President Hu Jintao needs stability to consolidate his own power within the four-generation leadership after ousting Jiang Zemin last autumn from the Communist Party of China's (CPC) Central Military Commission.
The four features of Hu's philosophy on stability are underscored by his reshuffle of provincial leaders in December and by Beijing's insistence on maintaining the value of the yuan:
* The current attempt to revive 2,500-year-old Confucianism gels with Hu's people-centered philosophy.