China party to launch social equality policy

BEIJING, Oct 11 (Reuters) China's ruling Communist Party will unveil a policy drive to ease volatile social inequality as a leaders' meeting ends today, state media said, leaving open whether the gathering will also announce leadership changes.

The Communist Party's Central Committee -- a council of some 350 senior officials -- has been meeting for four days to prepare for a party congress next year, when Chinese President Hu Jintao is expected to consolidate his grip on power and ideology in the one-party state.

Hu has bundled his plans for a more equal, less contentious country into the doctrine of a ''harmonious society''. The official Xinhua news agency said the committee would elevate his idea, giving it additional weight in policy.

The meeting ''will issue a decision on a number of major issues about constructing a harmonious society'', Xinhua reported late yesterday, adding that it would ''adopt major strategic measures to develop a fair and just society and achieve sustainable economic and social development''.

But Chinese media reports have left unclear whether the closed-door meeting will also act on Chen Liangyu, the sacked party boss of Shanghai, whose downfall last month highlighted concerns about widespread corruption and official abuse.

Chen also lost his seat in the party's 24-member Politburo, the first member of the decision-making body to be sacked since 1995 when Beijing party boss Chen Xitong was purged and jailed by Hu's predecessor, Jiang Zemin. The two Chens are not related.

Shanghai Mayor Han Zheng has been named the city's acting party chief, and some party insiders have said Hu may use the Central Committee session to appoint a protege to run the city, consolidating his power in the run-up to the 17th Party Congress next year.

If Han stays on, analysts said it would be a sign there will not be a major government personnel shake-up in Shanghai.

Hu was appointed national party boss at the previous congress in 2002, but many other senior leaders are Jiang's proteges.

But the People's Daily, the Communist Party's official paper, steered away from the sensitive question of personnel changes in a Wednesday commentary on the meeting, dwelling instead on the risks of inequality.

''The continued widening of income disparities will also bring peril to the long-term stability of society and sustained economic development,'' the newspaper said.

REUTERS DH KN0807