Mainland propaganda chief Liu Yunshan eyes top party post
Propaganda enforcer Liu Yunshan, with one eye on a top post, has spread Hu's grass-roots motto but critics say he is out of tune with modern media
Liu Yunshan , head of the Communist Party's Publicity Department and widely tipped as a strong candidate for elevation to the Politburo Standing Committee, has spared no effort in touting President Hu Jintao's new motto on party propaganda.
Shifting the emphasis to ordinary people is a campaign launched by Hu, under the banner "Go to the grass roots, renew the manner, and change the writing style", to make propaganda more relevant to a public growing weary of the constant burnishing of the party's deeds.
The campaign to promote Hu's propaganda policy is apparently an effort by Liu to increase his political capital in the intense jockeying for top posts.
Liu is often seen in public as a sidekick to propaganda tsar Li Changchun . For nearly 10 years, he has largely served as an enforcer following orders from his superiors to come down hard on dissent.
However, he is widely seen as a strong contender for a place on the party's all-powerful Politburo Standing Committee when its leadership transition takes place this year.
