Gao Kao in its present form hasn't really changed much since 1978. Xi was still an university student in that year. So I don't see the point of blaming Gao Kao

Gao Kao in its present form hasn't really changed much since 1978. Xi was still an university student in that year. So I don't see the point of blaming Gao Kao for making the country slip back into incompetent autocracy when the glaring problem is the lack of checks and balances to prevent an incompetent person from obtaining unchallengable absolute power. Checks and balances can exist in non-democratic systems too, it's about the design not the principle.