At 105, Song Ping is the Chinese Communist Party's oldest retired official. Famous for once pressing former President Jiang Zemin to fully retire, Song has recently appeared in public for the first time in years. Due to his advanced age, it was only a video message. But it has caused a stir in Chinese political circles ahead of the party's once-every-five-years national congress that begins on Oct. 16. In a congratulatory message for an event on Sept. 12, the centenarian said that the policy of reform and opening-up "has been the only path to the development and progress of contemporary...