EDITORIAL: Xi’s worrisome new powersTwo recent developments relating to the reform of China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) could have far-reaching implications, not just for Taiwan, but the entire world. First, on Friday last week, revisions to China’s National Defense Law came into effect that increase the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) hold over the military. China’s unique political structure is characterized by multiple layers of competing and overlapping governance. Powerful provincial-level administrations are subordinate to a vast bureaucracy of the central government, which is itself subordinate to the CCP. Positioned at the apex of China’s political pyramid, the party operates a plethora of “leading groups,” “steering groups” and commissions that exert influence over central government departments.

Source: Taipei Times January 07, 2021 15:56 UTC