Word: grips
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...Window was effectively firing the opening salvo in a debate that started the minute the closing ceremony's last firework exploded: What now for China? Will Party hard-liners, emboldened by the world's timid response to their heavy-handed pre-Games crackdown on dissent, continue to tighten their grip on power? Or will the spirit of civic activism that arose from relief efforts after the May earthquake in Sichuan be revived? Could reform-minded Party officials - like those who approved the publication of Southern Window's special issue - gain ground in their drive to ease control over areas such...
...magazine's editors have fired an opening shot in a debate that started the moment the closing ceremony's last firework exploded: What now for China? Will party hardliners, emboldened by the world's timid response to their brutal pre-Games crackdown on dissent, continue to tighten their grip on power? Or will the spirit of volunteerism and community that arose after the May earthquake in Sichuan be revived? Could reform-minded party officials - like those who approved the publication of Southern Window's special issue - gain ground in their drive to loosen control over areas such as the courts...
...President Hu Jintao, who made the successful staging of the Games the centerpiece of his presidency, a moment of truth looms. He will face mounting pressure to loosen the party's grip on power. Nicholas Bequelin, China researcher for Human Rights Watch in New York City, believes the pre-Olympics tightening of controls is actually contributing to rising social discord. "The pressure is building in the pressure cooker, and there's no current avenue for it to be released. I believe we will see many calls both inside and outside the party to put some sort of reforms...
...Western sentiment remains the stock market. Its recent nosedive reflects not just political turmoil, but also signs of an economy under stress. While GDP is expected to rise about 7.5% this year, Neil Shearing, an economist at Capital Economics in London, warns that unless Russian authorities get a grip on this heady growth and "take some of the steam out of the economy, we could have a fairly nasty correction over the medium term." Meanwhile, a report published by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in July warned that Moscow must do much more to end domestic production bottlenecks...
...school of thought, however, believes the national social mobilization effort, such as getting hundreds of thousands of citizen volunteers to look out for terrorists in the capital, and the economic cost of ensuring a peaceful and smooth Games mean the authorities will have no choice but to loosen their grip...