OpinionWorld waits for timetable on Beijing's leadership transition

As Beijing makes the final preparations for its once-in-a-decade leadership transition, the mainland's massive propaganda machine is getting into gear by eulogising the achievements of the 10-year rule under President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao , while trying to paint a rosier picture for the future.

State media has labelled the 10-year period from 2002 to 2011 as a "Golden Decade" that saw the per capita gross domestic product soar to US$5,432 from US$1,135 in 2002, and the size of the mainland economy grow to second-largest in the world, behind only the United States.

There is no doubt that the mainland has much to celebrate in its rise, but state media has deliberately failed to mention that dark clouds are drawing nearer.

To borrow a Chinese idiom, the mainland is now "beset with difficulties both at home and abroad", as it is faced with a cocktail of mounting political, diplomatic, economic and social uncertainties. Those include the ongoing Sino-Japanese flare-up over the Diaoyu Islands, the noticeable slowdown in the mainland economy, and waves of unrests and protests sweeping the country.

Ironically, the very leadership-transition process through which Beijing means to instil confidence and hope into the country's future has in fact created the most political uncertainty.

Xinhua released a commentary yesterday hailing the transparency and the public manner in which 2,270 representatives were chosen to attend the 18th Party Congress.