The magnificent ESWN has has translated an article about the "centrifugal" and "centripetal" pressures now tearing China apart, and suggests that local authorities are now in a position to defy the leadership of Hu Jintao and Wen Jiabao. After years of jockeying and alliance-building by the power-hungry Jiang Zemin, the local authorities hold considerable positions of influence, and the new boys are still dealing, among other things, with entrenched Jiang supporters in both Shanghai and Guangdong.

Meanwhile, another website, erm, particularly dear to my heart notes that the leadership are increasingly reluctant to throw their full force against the various protection rackets that pass for local governments these days, lest the entire edifice of power come crashing down. These are parlous moments for the Party.