CHINA: China's Communist Party announced a new leadership line- up but Mr Jiang Zemin retained control of the army, leaving many unsure whether he had retired or not.
Chinese media made no mention of his retirement and his photo was plastered over the front page of the state press despite headlines declaring a switch to a new generation.
"The collective leadership of the Central Committee accomplishes smoothly the transfer from old to new," one newspaper, the China Times, proclaimed.
As expected, China's grey man, Mr Hu Jintao, is the new general party secretary, heading a nine-man team, most of whom belong to Mr Jiang's "Shanghai Gang". Half the members of the politburo and other key party committees have been replaced but Chinese observers doubt whether this means any significant policy changes.
"It doesn't look like this is the start of any political reform. The economic policies will remain the same too, I guess," one middle-ranking Chinese journalist said.
"The orchestra is different but the music will be the same," a Western diplomat agreed.
Some observers argue that the new team will be more united than the old politburo standing committee, which was riven by fundamental disagreements over the scope of economic reforms and the need for political reforms.
In a sign of how little will change, Mr Hu lead out the new politburo standing committee in front of the media after their election, in what was billed as a press conference.
They marched out, clapping each other, and dressed in identical outfits - dark suits, white shirts, dyed black hair and red ties - and stood to attention while Mr Hu gave a bland speech. Neither Mr Hu nor any others fielded any questions and then they filed out, each giving a victorious wave to the cameras.
Mr Hu smoothly promised to continue China's reform, accelerate the modernisation of the economy and pledged to follow Mr Jiang's thinking as expressed in his theory, "Three Represents".
Mr Hu omitted to mention that Mr Jiang would remain in charge of the Central Military Commission, the same position that Deng Xiaoping retained after he gave up his other posts. The detail was revealed at the bottom of a page in a booklet, containing leadership biographies, handed out after journalists left the meeting in the Great Hall of the People.
The secretiveness of the party meeting and its curious rituals exactly replicate the proceedings five years ago at the last party congress. This bodes ill for political reform.
The high point of Chinese glasnost remains the 13th party congress in 1987 when the then newly appointed general secretary Zhao Ziyang casually drank and chatted with journalists as he launched an effort to make the party's operations more open and democratic.
China's new leadership is weighted with men in their 60s, who spent their youth taking engineering degrees before becoming embroiled in the pitched battles among Red Guard factions.
Many were then sent to the countryside before returning to the big cities and managerial jobs in the party as it plunged into economic reforms.
Among those promoted yesterday are Mr Jiang's right-hand men from his days as Shanghai's party chief, including Mr Zeng Qinghong; Mr Huang Ju, the party chief of Shanghai; Mr Wu Bangguo, whom Mr Jiang promoted from Shanghai to take charge of the reform of state industries; Mr Jia Qinglin, whom Mr Jiang installed to run Beijing; and another favourite, Mr Li Changchun, the boss of booming Guangdong province.
The standing committee is increased from seven to nine members and also includes Mr Wen Jiabao, who is destined to be appointed the new premier next year, and Mr Luo Gan, who is in charge of the security apparatus.
Western diplomats said Mr Hu appears to have had little say in the new line-up and it will take him many years to install his own men in key positions.