THE Cultural Revolution was a hellish period for millions of Chinese. President Xi Jinping’s father, Xi Zhongxun, a minister under Mao, was tortured, and a half-sister committed suicide. Yet some who lived through the period (those who suffered less) recall aspects of it with nostalgia. So it is with mixed feelings that Chinese now view the recent reappearance of some of the ingredients that made that era so toxic.
Many liberals in China wince at a renewed emphasis under Mr Xi on the Communist Party’s traditional beliefs, including “Mao Zedong thought”. They fret about adulation of Mr Xi in the official media—faintly reminiscent of Mao’s personality cult, which reached fever pitch during the Cultural Revolution. Others shrug. China needs a strongman like Mao, they say (though not his Red Guard mobs).
Mr Xi wants to be seen as such a man. By taking all the top jobs under his control, he has been turning away from the collective leadership of equals that Deng had created after the Cultural Revolution to ensure the capricious rule of someone like Mao could never happen again. In early April Mr Xi gave himself a new title: “commander-in-chief” of the Joint Operations Command, a new body (he was already head of the armed forces). He showed this off by appearing for the first time in public wearing combat fatigues.
Mr Xi clearly worries...Continue reading
Source: China http://ift.tt/1rHVgBk
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