Lin’s name may not ring many bells around the world. But in India sections of the Naxalite movement swear by Lin, who outdid Mao in ultra-Left ideological posturing. Those in New Delhi’s security establishment familiar with China might recall Lin, who as defence minister since 1959 set the stage for the Sino-Indian military confrontation in 1962. Lin’s revolutionary ideology also involved supporting various insurgencies in India.

As Beijing displays Lin’s portrait for the first time since 1971, official commentary from

Beijing suggests that the CCP and PLA are merely being “objective” about the past.

Hu’s army

As rapid economic and social change threatens to destabilise China, Hu’s task of restructuring civil-military ties is an unenviable one. Unlike Mao and Deng who were present at the creation of the PLA and enjoyed loyal personal networks in the military, Hu is an outsider.

Hu also cannot emulate his predecessor Jiang Zemin, who gave the PLA leadership a lot of political leeway. Hu needs a more institutional basis for the projection of his leadership over the armed forces.

Since 2004 when he became the Chairman of the Central Military Commission, the powerful organ of the CCP Central Committee that controls the PLA, Hu has cracked down hard on corruption within the armed forces. While his campaign has generated fear, Hu still needs his own men in the CMC.

The all-important 17th Congress of the CCP in November this year which will recast membership of the CMC might give a measure of Hu’s success in gaining full control over the armed forces. In a major speech to the PLA at the end of this month, Hu is expected to outline the kind of imprint he wants to leave on the Chinese armed forces.

... contd.