A two and half hour epic speech by President Hu makes for persuasive confidence that the leadership is energised to take China to her next height of glory and unsurpassable achievements.

The oarsman has to steer his boat carefully in order to ferry his passengers across the fast-moving and hightide water of the river so that all will reach the destination on the other side. If he steers too far upstream, the boat will reach the point before the platform; if further down, the water will push it to overshoot the platform. As oarsman before us, President Hu has drawn the grand blueprint for China such that all will reach the destination in neat and confident strokes.

The first stroke is to continue with socialism ingrained with Chinese characteristics. This is necessary for all of China to make the most efficient transition from closed to open economy within an evolving governing framework. By being careful, pragmatic and comprehensive, none will be left behind for too long as to lose hope of catching up, and those who may be ahead because they were in the forefront before in the great opening-up will also not lose heart that their energies may wane. Sooner or later, all will rise together. This has worked since Deng, it is working brilliantly well with Hu, and it will continue to work for those coming up who are being drawn from a wider net. This philosophy also resonates with the essence of progressive socialism that requires in the chase of prosperity those behind will not be neglected and those ahead will not be restrained in the process of finding the right balance. This socially stabilising approach transcends all stratas and geographies - wherever the Chinese people may reside.

The second stroke is scientific and technological development. In the same way that socio-economic transition is based on a scientific, try-and-observe, phasal, approach, the focus on scientific and technological innovation for nation-building will help China make new quantum leaps to ensure what she has achieved over the past decades will be used to the fullest to propel her even higher and at a much accelerated rate - because in this competitive global world to stand still is to fall behind. The focus on science, technology and research as core value-adding activities will not only increase China's productivity and earning powers but also encourage her peoples to achieve the highest of their innate abilities and thus achieve the highest of their destinies - for who can deny that science and business are the two primary elements in the Chinese blood? Additionally, this focus will ensure the continued important roles to be played by those who have been in service to China in the past based on their engineering and technical backgrounds; their wisdom and observations will provide the foundation and continuity for Chinese excellence in national development and international reputation.

The third stroke to achieve an all-rounded, well-off and harmonious society complements and supplements the first and second strokes. Every great idea and every apical aspiration must ultimately be founded on the national unifying principle applied to the groundswell of each human heart. Giving the peoples the means to grow and show their values through economic well-being, improved and balanced lifestyles, greater access to more choices in better goods and services, and faith sustained in institutional recourse to what makes for a progressive and modern society - these indeed are worthy objectives that the third stroke has encapsulated. Furthermore, in the simple insertion of the unit 'per capita' into a bold national target of four times GDP by 2020, what more by planning for it with the added challenge of reducing the usage of non-renewable resources in order to enhance the environment, the government is stamping its will to address both the present problems of income gaps and environmental erosion.

It remains to place as an additional record that a peace accord based on the one-China principle has been offered to that one of many provinces of China, a measure which even the US immediately and enthusiastically acclaimed as a step in the right direction to reinvigorate cross-straits dialogue. This is indeed a bold stroke, a brave accommodation, and a historically transcendental gesture that has crossed not only ideology but also time and geography with view to peaceful national reunification unwavered by any secessionist and splittist adventurism that has been the parochial and personal play of the transient elements on that island. Lest some may take this lightly, the watch ticked thirty seven seconds of thunderous applause when in a firm tone these words reverberated across that hallowed hall : "We will never allow anyone to separate Taiwan from the Motherland in any name and by any means."

In retrospect, there will always be challenges in a transition for if there are no challenges, then that means the changes had been ephemeral in the first place but since the changes are clearly present and for all to see, it therefore follows there will be challenges for all to tackle together. Again, this Congress has shown wisdom, understanding, focus, unity, will, progress and harmony to chart the course ahead to tackle them.

China, rise!