Contents -- Preface -- Acknowledgments -- List of Tables -- List of Figures -- List of Maps -- Introduction: China's Political Elites and Their Challenges -- "LAME DUCK PHENOMENON" -- AUTHORITARIAN RESURGENCE -- CHINA'S FUTURE POLITICAL DEVELOPMENT -- CHINA'S POLITICAL ELITES AND THEIR CHALLENGES -- CHAPTER OUTLINE -- NOTES -- Part I: Who Governs: China's Political Elites -- 1. Top Leadership -- POLITBURO STANDING COMMITTEE -- POLITBURO -- SECRETARIAT -- CENTRAL MILITARY COMMISSION -- CONCLUDING REMARKS -- NOTES -- 2. Central Committee -- EDUCATION CREDENTIALS -- AGE -- WORK EXPERIENCE -- PARTY STANDING -- HOME PROVINCE38 -- GENDER -- NATIONALITY -- PROVINCIAL MANAGEMENT EXPERIENCE -- CONCLUDING REMARKS -- NOTES -- 3. Institutional Representation -- PROVINCIAL REPRESENTATION -- Elite Provincial Units -- Provincial Central Committee Representation -- Provincial Central Committee Index -- CENTRAL REPRESENTATION -- Central Party Institutions -- Central Government Institutions -- Other Central Institutions -- MILITARY REPRESENTATION -- Central Military Institutions -- Local Military Regions -- Other Military Central Committee Members -- CORPORATE REPRESENTATION -- Corporations -- Academic Institutions -- CONCLUDING REMARKS -- NOTES -- 4. Factional Balance -- DECLINE OF THE SHANGHAI GANG -- Shanghai Gang Members in the Sixteenth Central Committee -- Shanghai Gang Members in the Seventeenth Central Committee -- QINGHUA CLIQUE -- PRINCELINGS -- Princelings as a Political Faction -- CHINESE COMMUNIST YOUTH LEAGUE GROUP -- Central Cadres -- Inner circle -- Full-time staff -- Local Cadres -- Provincial cadres -- Other CCYL cadres -- CONCLUDING REMARKS -- NOTES -- Part II: How to Govern: Challenges -- 5. Snowstorms in the South -- SNOWSTORMS IN THE SOUTH -- Winter 2008 in South China: Cold and Snowy -- Disasters Caused by Snowstorms -- GOVERNMENT RESPONSES.

Provincial Responses -- Ministry Responses -- National Transition Gap -- Role of the Politburo Standing Committee -- CONCLUDING REMARKS -- NOTES -- 6. The Tibet Issue -- TIBET IN THE HISTORY OF CHINA -- Tibet is a Part of China -- How Tibet was Governed -- MANAGING TIBETAN AFFAIRS IN THE ERAS OF MAO-DENG-JIANG -- Mao Zedong's Tibet Policies -- Hu Yaobang's Liberal Policies -- Deng Xiaoping's Development Strategy -- Jiang Zemin's Patriotic Education Campaign -- BEIJING'S TIBET POLICY UNDER HU JINTAO -- Hu Jintao and Tibet -- Six Rounds of Talks -- March 14 Riots in Lhasa and Gannan -- The Dalai Lama and the Tibetan Youth Congress -- Informing Foreign Leaders -- New Talks -- CONCLUDING REMARKS -- NOTES -- 7. Sichuan Earthquake -- EARTHQUAKES IN CHINA -- Strong Earthquakes in the History of China -- From Xingtai Earthquake to Tangshan Earthquake -- Xingtai earthquake -- Tonghai earthquake -- Haicheng earthquake -- Tangshan earthquake -- WENCHUAN EARTHQUAKE -- Leadership Response -- Social Mutual Assistance -- International Assistance -- CONCLUDING REMARKS -- NOTES -- 8. Beijing Olympic Games -- "ONE-HUNDRED-YEAR DREAM" -- Hosting the Olympic Games: A Chinese Dream from an American? -- Inspiration for China: the 1906 Athens Olympic Games -- Answering the First Two Questions -- Becoming a Host to the Olympic Games -- PREPARING FOR THE OLYMPIC GAMES -- Beijing's Pledges -- Beijing's Measures -- MANAGING THE OLYMPIC GAMES -- "Best Games Ever in the Olympic History" -- Disturbances and Disruptions -- "Truly Exceptional Games" -- Largest gathering of world leaders -- Grand opening ceremony -- Largest gathering of athletes in Olympic history -- "The Greatest Paralympic Games Ever" -- CONCLUDING REMARKS -- NOTES -- Conclusion: China's Prospects for Democratization -- GOVERNING CAPACITY OF THE CCP REGIME -- INSTITUTIONALIZATION -- FACTIONALIZATION.

DEMOCRATIZATION -- PARADOX OF DEMOCRATIZATION IN CHINA -- NOTES -- Index.