President Hu Jintao's speech on July 1 marking the 82nd anniversary of the founding of the Chinese Communist Party had been given advance billing as 'important'. The steady drum roll in the state media raised expectations that Mr Hu would use the platform to announce his grand vision of reform. In the end, it was a letdown. Despite the momentum towards change generated during the Sars crisis, Mr Hu showed no signs of willingness to break with the past. The speech was packed with the usual party rhetoric revolving around his predecessor Jiang Zemin's theory of the 'Three Representatives': namely, that the party represents the advanced productive force, the advanced culture and the interests of the broad masses. The word 'important' became inseparably attached to the thought of the Three Representatives. By honouring the theory, Mr Hu sought to dispel suspicions of rivalry in the party between his team and Mr Jiang's camp. The Three Representatives, which was first unveiled by Mr Jiang in 2000, still generates controversy within the party. With the lesson of the leadership split in the late 1980s, which led to the showdown of June 4, 1989, there was consensus that unity must prevail. Mr Hu's speech was collectively penned by the same group of party apparatchiks who contributed to the formulation of Three Representatives, and was purged of anything controversial. Mr Hu delivered it verbatim. Mr Hu is a patient man. Even in this generally bland speech, he managed to make his personal imprint by underscoring the third tenet of the Three Representatives - that the party represents the interests of the broad masses. He mentioned 'government for the people' 12 times in the speech. This was in line with his championing of the poor and the disadvantaged, in contrast with his predecessor's penchant for opening the party's door to the new rich. Chinese politics is a tough game. The fledgling leadership of Mr Hu and Premier Wen Jiabao, since taking power in March, has been operating from a position of weakness. Upholding the authority of the constitution, shunning formalism and taking decisive steps in managing the Sars crisis, they have set themselves apart from Mr Jiang, who chairs the all-powerful military commission and has installed his followers in key positions. The July 1 speech marks the closing of the first act of the new leadership. As the curtain falls, the political scene is settling down for an interlude of comparative quiet. However, the new leaders must move speedily to tackle urgent tasks: the growing gap between the poor and the rich; rampant corruption; the chaotic financial system and the social security and health-care systems. The summer floods will draw Mr Hu and Mr Wen close to the people. They will be in their own elements - solving problems and building a base of popular support. The nuclear crisis on the Korean peninsula is challenging China to address issues with regional and global implications. Circumstances will make the new leaders emerge from the shadow of their predecessors. Nailene Chou Wiest is a correspondent in the Post's Beijing bureau
