China's Further Opaqueness

Last year was the last time the Premier would speak to media

The liang hui or Two Sessions has kicked off in Beijing and already there is a big bombshell of an announcement -- the Premier will no longer host a press conference at the end of the National People's Congress.

It used to be at the closing of the NPC that the Premier would field questions from both domestic and foreign journalists once a year. Even though the questions would be vetted ahead of time, it was still an opportunity to not only ask but also hear what he had to say about a wide range of topics that wasn't too scripted.

For 30 years premiers answered questions

But alas, this press conference is no more and Premier Li Qiang will not be taking any questions.

It was a tradition that was held since 1993, but apparently now there will be more briefings by other government ministers on the economy, diplomacy and people's livelihoods. 

Some China watchers see this as a further erosion of the role of the country's number 2 leader and shifting more to leader Xi Jinping. 

Many remember then premier Wen Jiabao in 2012 talking about the Cultural Revolution in a veiled reference to Bo Xilai, the charismatic party boss of Chongqing who tried to demonstrate how "red" he was in his devotion to patriotism by reviving Mao-era songs and promoting "red culture". 

In 2012 Wen gave Bo a dressing down

At the time Wen said that Bo "should learn from his experience in Chongqing", which was an unusual reprimand. Soon after the NPC Bo was removed from his position in Chongqing and was later removed from the Central Committee and Politburo. He was put on trial for corruption, bribery and abuse of power, and was convicted. He is currently languishing in jail. 

In other news, remember Zhang Xiaoming? He used to head the liaison office in Hong Kong, and the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office for several years, including during the 2019 protests. But in February 2020 he was demoted. Then two days before the start of the Two Sessions, it was announced he would be leaving the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office; the move was described as a "normal leadership reshuffle".

Lots of changes with not much explanations...