October 10, 2007
The top red headline in today’s Southern Metropolis Daily announces that party leaders met in Beijing this morning for the 7th Session of the 16th Central Committee of CPC. Their aim was to discuss the minutes and make final preparations for the 17th Party Congress, which will commence next Monday.
The large headline on the right reads “Commanders changed in five military districts.” An illustration of the party’s leadership over the armed forces, this personnel change is also related to the coming Congress: the current leader needs to strengthen his power over the military.
The front page photo shows a fire fighter saving a 3-year-old boy who fell into a concrete pipe yesterday in Dongguan, Guangdong Province. After a 13-hour rescue effort involving 200 people, the boy was pulled out of the pipe safely. The big characters to the right read, “He’s saved after a fierce 13 hour fight!”
The middle headline is about the corruption case involving Li Fei, a former property company boss. He is suspected of accepting bribes in excess of one million yuan when he was the president of Guangzhou City Construction & Development Property Group.