But China will not achieve that goal as long as its leaders cling to a rigid and obsolete political system.

After that move, many officials and political leaders had clung to the prospect that a cut in the central bank's discount rate would prove a cure-all.

Their leader clung to The Shadow, clutching with a lucky grip that he had obtained.

Bedraggled and freezing, the leader of the killers clung to a rock as the water tore at his legs.

He said the leaders clung to "an incorrect policy" that Soviet Jews had "no need for separate institutions."

So what makes some leaders cling on to power at all costs?

Many aging lay leaders cling to power, Mr. L'Heureux said, and are threatened by the young, active immigrant members.

But Bhutan's leaders cling to the notion that they can negotiate with pop culture.

Although there are some 16 political parties, they are all rather lifeless and uninspiring, and the leaders cling to top posts until death.

Still, the army's leaders clung to their prerogatives.