Hu Jintao could stay on as head of China's military

24.10.2012 Pacific Sentinel

The seriousness of China's ongoing sovereignty dispute with Japan over the Diaoyutai islands may prompt outgoing Communist Party leader Hu Jintao to follow his predecessors Jiang Zemin and Deng Xiaoping in staying on as chairman of the Central Military Commission after stepping down as party general secretary in November, reports our Chinese-language sister paper Want Daily.

The 69-year-old Hu is widely expected to hand over his position of party general secretary to current vice president Xi Jinping at the 18th National Congress, commencing on November 8 in Beijing, as well as the presidency of the People's Republic of China next year. At this stage, however, it is unclear whether Hu will make a "clean break" from politics by also handing over his position as head of China's military.

Read the full story at China Want Times