In the 18th Party Congress report, the single area that has justifiably generated the most attention are references to political reform.

But in fact, views on this report will rely entirely on initial expectations. If one wasn't harboring unrealistic hopes, the report can be read as an indication of progress on political reform.

In recent years, the notion of "political reform" became a kind of taboo subject. The mere suggestion of it was considered risky, let alone any meaningful discourse on viable frameworks. Leftists would be very happy to completely eliminate the concept from their vocabulary.