China's Communists vow crackdown on separatism  — China's
Communist elite wrapped up their annual conclave Friday without
a widely anticipated announcement to promote the country's vice
president and presumed future leader to a powerful military
commission.  Many analysts had expected the appointment as a
sign that Xi Jinping was on track to succeed Hu Jintao as
president when he is presumed to step down in three years.
Instead, they were left wondering whether an announcement was
still pending, or whether the party had simply decided to do
away with a shallow precedent set a decade ago when Hu himself
was given a post on the Central Military Commission. Few thought
Xi had fallen out of the running as successor.  "I don't think
that Xi has gone off track," said Cheng Li, an expert on Chinese
leadership issues at the Brookings Institution in Washington.
"My sense is that Xi is still on for No. 1 position."  A
communique issued at the close of the four-day meeting of the
Central Committee, meanwhile, stressed