The Celestial People's Republic? I guess I'm going through a period of Sino-philia. Check out this excerpt from a LA Times article:

But the imagery also has dynastic overtones, suggesting to observers that, despite limited reforms, the transfer of power in China has not progressed far from the pre-modern days of patriarchs who enjoyed lifelong tenure and chose their own successors. The influence of traditional political culture and the realities of how power works in China, analysts point out, make it unlikely that President Jiang Zemin, or any Chinese leader, would cede power of his own accord. "As with imperial power, lifelong tenure has existed all along in China, especially for top leaders," said Yu Haocheng, a visiting scholar at UCLA. "Despite the republican revolution of 1911 and the Communist revolution of 1949, up to the present day, this problem has still not been resolved."

The leopard changes its spots, but remains a leopard nonetheless? Perhaps China analysts should stop reading Mao's little red book and get straight to their Ssu-ma Ch'ien.