‘The Political Thought of Xi Jinping’ by Steve Tsang and Olivia Cheung

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The Political Thought of Xi Jinping

Many China observers were shocked in 2017 when “Xi Jinping Thought” was elevated to the same level as the infamous thoughts of Chairman Mao Zedong. If grumbling occurred among traditionalists within the Chinese Communist Party, it was inaudible. President Xi had already waged a vigorous “anti-corruption campaign,” whose ulterior purpose was to uproot and silence competitors within the party.

The authors of The Political Thought of Xi Jingping are clear about Xi’s aim. He decided to replace the collective leadership that governed China since Mao’s death in 1976 with himself in the old chairman’s role as the nation’s “Great Helmsman,” But where Mao’s “Little Red Book” was philosophical with a poetic streak, composed in haikus of destruction, Xi’s “Thought” reads like a power-craving bureaucrat’s agenda. Xi’s ambition is to “strengthen regime security, enhance party supremacy, and deliver the China Dream of rejuvenation.” The authors describe Xi as wanting to “make China great again,” echoing a phrase familiar to Americans. “Greatness” means restoring China’s imperial reach by maintaining a grip on Tibet and other borderlands, crushing Hong Kong’s democracy and seizing Taiwan.

“Xi’s vision of ‘one country’ requires every Chinese person to submit to the greater good of China as interpreted by the Party,” the authors continue. And the Party has become nothing by Xi’s mouthpiece. The totalitarian nature of Xi’s “Thought” is exposed through the app on the phone of every Party member, civil servant, teacher and employee of state-owned enterprises whose daily use is mandatory. “The frequency and aptitude of their usage are monitored by a built-in screening system.” For those who have fallen behind in the digital age, Xi’s speeches are broadcast over loudspeakers in major cities.

Get The Political Thought of Xi Jinping at Amazon here.

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