CHINA: Former Chinese president Mr Jiang Zemin is still giving orders as head of the People's Liberation Army, state media have reported, which could mean he will hang on to his last remaining official post, despite speculation he is getting ready to step down, writes Clifford Coonan in Beijing
Mr Jiang (78), who remains a political heavyweight as head of the Central Military Commission, has been widely rumoured to be preparing to retire to make way for his 61-year old successor President Hu Jintao at a closed door meeting of the Communist Party's 198-member Central Committee.
However, the army newspaper PLA Daily reported on its website that Mr Jiang recently signed an order on "Environmental Regulations of the People's Liberation Army" as chairman of the military.
News that Mr Jiang is still carrying out his role as army head has added further spice to "will he, won't he?" speculation about the wily ex-leader's plans.
The rivalry between Mr Jiang and Mr Hu, who replaced him as party chief in 2002 and as president in 2003, has been on the boil for months but has crept its way onto the agenda in recent weeks.
The succession issue has dominated reports about the plenum, the main theme of which is fighting corruption.
The PLA newspaper report made no mention of the secret four-day meeting, the proceedings of which have not, in the past, been reported by the state media until closing day.
The foreign ministry last week described speculation in foreign media of a rift between the two men as "purely fictitious". Mr Jiang and Mr Hu don't really have any major disagreements about policy, although there is talk that Mr Jiang is unhappy with the current administration's handling of the economy.
But the division of power between the old and the new leadership makes it harder for Mr Hu to introduce reform.
The party has implemented modest market reforms in the last few years, often referred to as socialism with Chinese characteristics.
The Communist Party, which was founded in Shanghai in 1921, has ruled China with an iron fist since it came to power after the 1949 revolution.
It did much to combat the age-old problem of corruption in the years after 1949 but economic growth has seen a revival of corruption.
The party is focusing on improving governance as it is worried that rampant corruption and abuses by local level officials and police could undermine their authority.
Public dissatisfaction about corrupt practices has traditionally been a source of much civil unrest in China, toppling numerous imperial dynasties. In 1989, pro-democracy demonstrators listed an end to corruption as one of their demands.
The government has carried out very public purges and thousands of corrupt officials have been jailed or executed, but enforcing anti-corruption measures is difficult in the absence of an independent judiciary or free press.
Despite the veil of secrecy, the plenum is closely watched as the outcome is a useful barometer of the political situation in China and shows who is in control of the world's most populous nation.
Mr Jiang, whose term as chairman of the Central Military Commission doesn't end until 2007, is unlikely to give up his post before he has secured his political legacy alongside the great leaders of Chinese communism.
No one expects the rivalry to blow up into a full-blown power struggle as both men are committed to stability.