"I think you got it wrong. As of yet he has (just) been named secretary-general (秘书长) of the 18th party congress (i.e. the main secretary at the meeting itself), not CPC secretary-general. Reread the tweet you are referring to. Also, I believe the top CPC position of 主席 is officially translated as Chairman, not secretary-general.So here are the words for the day:
Sorry, I also got it wrong with the titles. The top CPC position is not 主席 but 总书记. Nevertheless, as of now, he has still only been named 秘书长 of the 十八大, not the 总书记 of the CPC."
--http://shanghaiist.com/2012/11/07/xi_jinping_appointed_cpc_secretary.php
共产党 Gongchandang = Communist Party
中国共产党 Zhongwen Gongchandang = Chinese Communist Party
中共 Zhonggong = abbreviation for Chinese Communist Party
主席 zhu-xi = chairman/president
总书记 zong-shu-ji = General Secretary (or Secretary-General or First Secretary)
秘书长 mi-shu-chang (or mishuzhang) = Secretary General
十八 shiba = 18
十八大 shibada = 18th Congress
中共十八大 Zhonggong shibada = Chinese Communist Party 18th Congress
This seems a little confusing:
总 zong = general
书记 shuji = secretary. This person keeps records and performs clerical work.
秘书 mishu = secretary. This could refer either to a clerical position or the head of a department, like Secretary of State.
长 chang = long, great
党委书记 = party secretary. The person in charge of a local committee of the communist party.
So which word should be used?
总书记 should be translated "General Secretary". This is the highest ranking official in the communist party, and currently is Hu Jintao. Before 1982, the highest ranking official was called "Chairman" (主席).
But to make this more confusing, there is another title called "President" (主席)of China, which is a ceremonial role for the head of state, roughly similar to how it is in France. This position is also currently held by Hu Jintao.
The Vice President (副主席)fu zhu-xi is another ceremonial role, currently held by Xi Jinping.
The head of government is called the Premier (总理 zongli) aka Prime Minister, and this is currently held by Wen Jiabao. The Premier is assisted by multiple Vice Premiers (副總理 fu zongli).
The Secretariat of the Communist Party is its permanent bureacracy, and it reports to the General Secretary. It is made up of multiple members, who are ranked by precedent, with the First Secretary (no link) being the top ranked. The First Secretary is currently Xi Jinping. (I think the First Secretary is next in line to the General Secretary).
The Politburo oversees the Communist party of China, and has about 25 members. The Politburo Standing Committee consists of nine members, including the four previously named.
The National Congress is the highest body of the Communist party that meets every five years. It is run by the Central Committee (with about 350 members), of which the Secretariat, previously mentioned, is the working executive body. The Standing Committee is an expanded de facto legislative body of about 150 members. The Standing Committee also has a judicial function, so it has some parallels with the old House of Lords. It is lead by a Chairman, currently Wu Bangguo, which is a position analagous to the Speaker of the House.
The General Assembly of the National Congress has almost 2300 members, and is meeting right now in Beijing at the Great Hall of the People. It elected as its leader Xi Jinping, no surprise. The title of the leader is 秘书长. But how should this word be translated? As "Secretary-General". The UN Secretary-General 联合国秘书长 is Ban Ki-Moon.
So Xi Jinping was elected Secretary-General of the General Assembly of the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China. But Hu Jintao remains, for now, the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China. Got it?
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