China's Communist Party prepares for power handover A scandal surrounding him and his administration in the southwestern city of Chongqing, which has seen his wife convicted for the murder of a British businessman, has plagued the sensitive leadership transition. The party announced in September that he would be expelled but his formal ouster is a final piece of housekeeping the leaders are expected to conclude before the congress starts, analysts say. Observers say the scandal has split the top leadership, with reformers using it as ammunition to advance their push for democratic reform, while conservatives scrambled to shore up the image of a ruling party mired in corruption allegations. Further complicating the political landscape is a New York Times report that last week said Wen's family had accumulated assets worth $2.7 billion, in a blow to his self-styled image as a common man leading the fight against graft. Ahead of the congress, the ruling party has further tightened already strict censorship of the media and internet, while cities have been flooded with police and security personnel. Over 1.4 million people have volunteered to help police "maintain stability" in Beijing in the run up to the landmark meeting, state-run news agency Xinhua reported. "Since early October, Chinese authorities have engaged in a campaign of intimidation and incarceration to pre-empt any potential expressions of dissent or protest," Renee Xia, director of the Chinese Human Rights Defenders said in a statement. China's top political leaders are very nervous, as they have since early this year been consumed by one of the most destabilising and disharmonious power struggles in decades.