IN THE dog days of August, Beidaihe is a sea resort unlike any other. Swimmers, waddling through the streets with flotation rings around their waists, pause at road crossings as paramilitary police, in tight single-file with ramrod straight backs, march past. Visitors entering town are stopped at checkpoints. Cars require special certification. And tourists know their fun can only go so far: just beyond the westernmost public beach, guards stop anyone approaching a tree-lined boulevard leading to villas where very important people are, apparently, discussing very important matters.
Exactly who these people are is a secret. China’s leaders—President Xi Jinping; the prime minister, Li Keqiang; ministers, provincial bosses and retired senior officials—are probably all now at the resort on Bohai Bay, two hours from Beijing by high-speed train. But ordinary citizens will not find out. Since the earliest years of Mao’s rule, the government has never published a list of attendees at these annual conclaves.
Warm breezes and shaded gardens are thought conducive to debates about policy. “Top leaders have the luxury of time to discuss serious...Continue reading
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