Party: China has 'high expectations'

As China prepares for the Communist Party congress amid tight security, the party's Qiushi Journal magazine called for confidence in the country's future. "There are ample reasons for us to have high expectations and confidence in the future development of our country," said the journal, the flagship magazine of the party's Central Committee. "We firmly believe that, under the leadership of the [Communist Party of China)] and through the joint efforts of the party and people, we will walk along the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics and have a bright future," the journal said. The party's national congress, held every five years and expected to draw about 2,000 delegates this year, will open Thursday in Beijing. This year's assembly will witness the once-a-decade leadership change, with top leaders from President Hu Jintao down being replaced. Security has been tightened in Beijing to the point that cab riders would be prevented from throwing any anti-government messages out of a vehicle, The New York Times reported. The report, quoting a provincial police department, said it will be like a "state of war" during the event, and that even kitchen knives have disappeared from store shelves and access to the Internet has mysteriously slowed. China has about a half-billion Internet users. Human rights groups say hundreds of Chinese dissidents and government critics across the country have been reportedly confined to their homes or compelled to go on vacations away from Beijing. Vehicles carrying toxic or dangerous chemicals won't be allowed in Beijing during the congress. The city's Traffic Management Bureau said the time vehicles registered outside Beijing may stay in the city was shortened from seven days to three. Official Chinese media organizations have been reporting a long list of achievements by the party. The congress comes at a time when China, after years of double-digit growth, is witnessing a slowdown due to the global economic crisis. The party also has been handicapped by scandals, chief among them the ouster of former party superstar Bo Xilai on various charges and the murder trial of his wife. Official corruption continues to be a major problem despite relentless crackdowns, observers say. The Wall Street Journal said other problems include ethnic tensions in China's far west and environmental protests affecting industrial projects. "Chinese people's rights awareness seems to be growing faster than local authorities' preparedness to deal with the change .... ," the official Xinhua News Agency said. Despite the growth of public awareness in the country, secrecy continues to shroud the selection of the next generation of leaders by the party.