Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- October 25, 2017

Janis Mackey Frayer, NBC: Analysis: Xi Jinping Exits Congress With Near-Absolute Authority

BEIJING — When Chinese President Xi Jinping strode into the room crammed with cameras and reporters on Wednesday, there seemed to be more curiosity about the six men who followed behind him.

They were the new Communist Party Politburo Standing Committee, the most powerful decision-making council of China’s government. All handpicked Xi loyalists, they will implement his agenda for the next five years.

Collectively they sent the clearest signal yet that China may be entering an era of strongman rule.

None of them is an obvious successor to Xi. They are all aged in their 60s, and in five years would be too old to be considered for China’s top job.

Read more ....

Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- October 25, 2017

China: Xi Jinping cements status as leader -- Al Jazeera

Liu He to take up reins as architect of China’s economic reform -- Jeff Pao, Asia Times

China’s Silk Road Illusions -- Philip Bowring, NYBooks

Questions loom as Mattis visits SKorea: Can diplomacy work? -- Robert Burns, AP

Japan's vote for Abe could worsen the prospects for peace with North Korea and China -- Nicole Freiner, The Conversation

What Comes Next? Shinzo Abe is back in power so what is he going to do? -- Daniel Sneider, Asia Times

Can Japan Be Great Again? -- Shihoko Goto, The Globalist

Catalonia: The irresponsibility of separatism -- Nacho Martin Blanco, Al Jazeera

How Spain could be ripped apart like the bloody collapse of Yugoslavia as independence battle rages on -- The Sun

Germany’s Delegation To Russia Signals That Merkel Is Looking For New Allies -- George Friedman, Mauldin Economics

Ukraine’s Next Revolution Won’t Be on the Streets -- Diane Francis, RCW

The EU cannot ignore corruption in Malta -- Bernd Riegert, DW

Where Europe went wrong: A timely warning for both sides of the Atlantic. -- Paul Taylor, Politico

Most Dictators Self Destruct. Why? -- Leonid Bershidsky, Bloomberg

AP Explains: What could be in the long-secret JFK files? -- Alanna Durkin Richer, AP