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China's Xi Is Resurrecting Mao's 'Continuous Revolution' with a Twist

• sam345 3y ago
  No Paywall: https://archive.is/mHGY4 https://archive.is/mHGY4
  • throwaway_5753 3y ago
    Archive only shows part of the article for me. Is this a WSJ countermeasure or is my browser behaving badly? Edit: was browser issue (FF/Android). Worked when desktop site was toggled.
• sam345 3y ago
  >While the forever purge buttresses Xi’s authority, it also has instilled a constant apprehension and reluctance to act decisively among party members as challenges mount. The economy is struggling to shake its Covid hangover. Youth unemployment has skyrocketed, and the property market and consumer sentiment have tanked. Meanwhile, debt is piling up and foreign investors are increasingly turning their backs on the Chinese market. Not exactly a recipe for economic growth but keeps Xi in power. Guess wrong on who to please and off to jail. And the answer always changes. Mao was a master of this type of chaos to keep himself wealthy and in control to the detriment of China. Curious if it will be as effective in the 21st century. >>>But whereas Mao roused ordinary Chinese into purging class enemies and assaulting what he saw as a decaying party from the outside, Xi has shaken up the party from within, using fear to enforce virtuous behavior. Even the party’s discipline inspectors themselves have become targets, under a rectification campaign launched in February that aims to “turn the blade inward and cut out decaying flesh.”
• ggm 3y ago
  He's old. This reinforces his power as he ages. It's selfish behaviour which betrays a lack of interest in the long-term polity. The mark of a true statesman is being able to retire. I can understand not wanting to, but I have a strong belief Xi is unable to contemplate it, because of the chaos which would stem from his own decisions. Not unlike his northern neighbour in that regard.