The fifth plenary session of the 18th Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Central Committee has been taking place from Oct. 26 to 29 in Beijing. On October 28, 2015, several major Mainland China websites published a high-profile report about former Prime Minister Zhu Rongji’s recent appearance at his alma mater, Tsinghua University. According to the article, Zhu visited Tsinghua in 2007, 2011, and 2015. In 2011, he shared his motto with the students: “No matter whether there is a minefield or an abyss in front of me, I will not turn back. I will work tirelessly with full effort and will not give up until death.” The person who wrote the article is a WeChat messaging public registrar from Beijing Daily.

The article also told some stories about other current and former top CCP leaders’ visits to their own alma maters, including stories about Xi Jinping, Hu Jintao, Li Keqiang and Wen Jiabao. Xi Jinping is the CCP General Secretary and the president of China; Hu Jintao was the CCP General Secretary from 2002 to 2012 and President of China from 2003 to 2013; Li Keqiang is the current Premier of China’s State Council; Wen Jiabao is the former Premier of China’s State Council.

[Editor’s note: People noticed that the article did not mention Jiang Zemin, the former CCP General Secretary from 1989 to 2002, or Jiang’s faction from the Standing Committee.] 

Source: Tencent QQ, October 28, 2015
http://xw.qq.com/news/20151028036194/NEW2015102803619404

China Internet Information Center published an article that Beijing Times had originally carried. According to the article, during the Fifth Plenary Session of the 18th Central Committee, which is taking place from October 26-29, it is expected that the current leadership will generate the following three initiatives: 1) Introduce its five-year plan. The five-year plan will be the first one introduced under the current leadership of Xi Jinping. In order to prepare for the plan, from May to July of this year, Xi visited Zhejiang, Guizhou, and Jilin provinces and hosted seminars to gather feedback from Party officials from 18 provinces and districts. 2) Launch reforms in tax, population, and environmental policy. 3)  Make personnel changes as result of the anti-corruption effort. The article stated that, since the 18th National Congress, over 100 Party officials from the provincial level, seven members of the central committee, and 11 alternate members from the central committee were placed under investigation. Therefore it is expected that replacements will be named during the session.

Source: China Internet Information Center, October 26, 2015
http://news.china.com.cn/2015-10/26/content_36886951.htm

According to the China Internet Information Center, the State Post Bureau confirmed that, starting on November 1, a real-name system is required for sending express mail. This means that the sender is required to provide his or her name and the personal identification number that matches the ID card when filling out the paperwork to send something by express mail. The article said that, at the moment, the post office is not required to verify the information and the recipient is not required to provide an ID.

Source: China Internet Information Center, October 26, 2015
http://cppcc.china.com.cn/2015-10/26/content_36887416.htm

Xinhua published a report on the statistics that the Ministry of Supervision compiled on the violations of the “Eight Rules” that the Political Bureau of the central administration established in order to curb the improper use of government funds. According to the Ministry’s figures, during the month of September, there were 3,490 cases of violations. The report said that 4,645 people had been involved and 3,443 people were subject to the Party’s disciplinary charge. The most common violation was the inappropriate distribution of bonuses and benefits. The misuse of government vehicles, accepting gifts, and hosting extravagant weddings and funerals ranked second. The article said that the statistics were collected from 66 central administration agencies, 111 central enterprises, and 15 central financial intuitions, as well as from 31 Production and Construction Corporations in 31 provinces and regions.

Source: Xinhua, October 25, 2015
http://news.xinhuanet.com/politics/2015-10/25/c_1116931446.htm

Top discipline inspector Wang Qishan wrote that the Party must adhere to high standards, not cross the "bottom line" of Party’s “Discipline Regulations” and promote a comprehensive systematic innovation of the Party’s governance.