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The Thoughts of Chairman Xi

bbc.co.uk

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Re: The Thoughts of Chairman Xi

#71

Post by dreamfactored »

katastic wrote: post #17
norswap wrote: post #13

I find the parallels between Xi and Putin fascinating: both had "modest" origins (or modest spells in the case of Xi) and much publicize them. Both were not really accounted for much, simply managing to rise through the ranks without making a wave, and always scrupulously deferring to authority. Both were nominated to the head of their respective party as a compromise or a strawman. That is until they took power, aft…

I honestly find it suspect that the media is full of "russia! russia! russia!", but nobody ever mentions China, which is in a far greater position for war (1.6 MILLION TROOPS) and accounts for like 28% of all known hack attempts. And speaking of influencing elections... there was this thing in the 90's called... Chinagate. [1] With millions directly found to influence an election. As well as leaked weapons and nuclea…

Don't forget the drones with GPS flooding the world and taking pictures of everything everywhere

Re: The Thoughts of Chairman Xi

#72

Post by ttflee »

norswap wrote: post #13

I find the parallels between Xi and Putin fascinating: both had "modest" origins (or modest spells in the case of Xi) and much publicize them. Both were not really accounted for much, simply managing to rise through the ranks without making a wave, and always scrupulously deferring to authority. Both were nominated to the head of their respective party as a compromise or a strawman. That is until they took power, aft…

And it's almost the same trajectory for Leonid Brezhnev.

Re: The Thoughts of Chairman Xi

#73

Post by pertymcpert »

Iv wrote: post #64
richsinn wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think the Atlantic piece is suggesting that at all. The article is making the point that the delicate power balances behind the Chinese Communist Party is very complex, and that the soundbites we hear from our Western media (or any media for that matter) probably do not capture the full extent of the power dynamics, wheeling and dealing, and inner workings of the Chinese Communist Party.

Last time I checked, the power balances are not necessarily complex, they are opaque. They could rely on tea leaves readings for all we know. Most of the "analysis" you read are pure speculations based more on wishful thinking and prejudice than on facts.

Wishful thinking? Most of the news seem to be very pessimistic about the future.

Re: The Thoughts of Chairman Xi

#74

Post by Iv »

forapurpose wrote: post #59
Iv wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can someone explain to me why Xi is considered to have "consolidated his grasp"? This seems to be a well accepted idea but I don't see what substantiates that. He starts his second term as prime minister of China, and serving two terms has been the norm in recent times. I did not remark China becoming more authoritarian under his rule. I do not see indications that he may stay after 2022, his scheduled depart. What d…

> I did not remark China becoming more authoritarian under his rule. Xi greatly suppressed political dissent, online and off. There was a burgeoning, very interesting online debate about democracy and governance, full of thoughtful ideas, brilliant satire, and more. AFAIK, that's mostly gone. You can read about it here: http://chinadigitaltimes.net/ He also arrested and otherwise suppressed many political opponents,…

> Xi greatly suppressed political dissent, online and off.

But was that different from his predecessors?

> He also arrested and otherwise suppressed many political opponents, at least in large part under the guise of an 'anti-corruption' campaign.

That I would like to know more about. Most of the times, people just quote Bo Xilai (who seem to have been a genuinel crime ring boss) and his successor. I have a hard time understanding why the official version is just dismissed.

> and a Mao-ish cult of personality for himself.

Is there a place to read about that?

Re: The Thoughts of Chairman Xi

#75

Post by pertymcpert »

theWatcher37 wrote: post #46
KGIII wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Alright, I have to ask. How did he make him look like Pooh? When I think of Pooh, I think calm to the point of naive, not very smart but sometimes philosophical, friends with all, and very fond of honey. I'm well and truly confused. This is not entirely unusual.

I’d reply honestly to you but it would just get me banned. Like it or not you’ve contributed to a culture that people can’t reply to you honestly in. Think about how dangerous that is.

Explain?

Re: The Thoughts of Chairman Xi

#76

Post by eternalban »

Iv wrote: post #56
richsinn wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Exactly. Check this article out: "Xi Jinping May Be Less Powerful Than He Seems" ( https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2017/04/xi... ) The fact of the matter is that the outside world knows very little about the inner workings at the top of the Communist Party in China.

As a foreigner this feels a bit like a US' reaction about their loss of leadership. There has to be something wrong about China's rise. Imagining that it will surpass their own economic power through good management by a central government is something they just refuse to accept. It has to be some authoritarian cheat mode.

In general, 'something nefarious is going on overseas', beyond the Anglo cultural domain. Interesting thing to me is, as you point out, how the "mechanics of power" are held to be a byzantine mystery in Communist Party of China, but it is over here just a matter of a 'pick the least ugly' beauty contest over here in US of A.

Of course, what is truly opaque is just which groupings in the West hold the true power and just what is the nature of the "mechanics of power" here in the West.

Re: The Thoughts of Chairman Xi

#77

Post by corford »

This is a fairly devastating passage:

"And money talks. When Xi visited Seattle in 2015, America’s technology giants allowed themselves to be summoned

The bosses of Apple, Microsoft, Cisco, IBM and Amazon all stood alongside Xi in the front row of a group photograph. All have since embarked on multiple partnerships with China despite its commitment to perfecting internet censorship.

Also prominent in that photo was Mark Zuckerberg, but despite a charm offensive which included inviting the Chinese Communist leader to suggest a name for his baby, and praising Xi’s book on governance, Facebook is still barred from China. Google’s founders were not even invited to be in Xi’s photo.

Xi has ambitious plans for control of the internet and that means leverage over foreign companies.

Facebook’s messaging tool Whatsapp is increasingly blocked in China and Apple has now removed from its China App Store the VPNs which once gave Chinese users access to social media tools in the West, including the YouTube channel which gave the gleeful Guo Wengui such a devastating platform to discredit Xi’s rule.

To fully control China’s cyberspace, Xi has had to take action against the world’s."

Re: The Thoughts of Chairman Xi

#78

Post by School-Cotton »

thaumasiotes wrote: post #62
Iv wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As a foreigner this feels a bit like a US' reaction about their loss of leadership. There has to be something wrong about China's rise. Imagining that it will surpass their own economic power through good management by a central government is something they just refuse to accept. It has to be some authoritarian cheat mode.

Good management is hardly necessary. China has ~5 times the population of the US; it would be shocking (is shocking, sadly...) for it to be economically weaker.

India has almost the same population as China and is much poorer.

Re: The Thoughts of Chairman Xi

#79

Post by jrs95 »

chewz wrote: post #45
norswap wrote: post #13

I find the parallels between Xi and Putin fascinating: both had "modest" origins (or modest spells in the case of Xi) and much publicize them. Both were not really accounted for much, simply managing to rise through the ranks without making a wave, and always scrupulously deferring to authority. Both were nominated to the head of their respective party as a compromise or a strawman. That is until they took power, aft…

And it is suprising that such social mobility is possible in autocratic regimes but not in US.

Well, given that the established aristocracy was mostly destroyed in communist revolutions in each country, it's not entirely surprising. You need political support from that class of people in the U.S., although being one of them isn't necessary. A few presidents have been from middle class (or upper middle class) backgrounds, Obama and Bill Clinton both did.

Re: The Thoughts of Chairman Xi

#80

Post by justicezyx »

Iv wrote: post #55
justicezyx wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People never fight for the fighting's sake, they fight for profit, all sorts of profit. Why Xi wants to put down the tigers and flys? It's because those are in his way to achieve his idea of "revitalize the Chinese nation". Because those people are having different ideas on how to do the same thing, or entirely having a different purpose. Conveniently, it's always been true that absolute power comes with absolute cor…

So basically, you are assuming the conclusion.

What conclusion?

What I was saying is that anti-corruption always will be the most effective weapon to take down powerful people in China, because of its political structure. It does not matter if the motivation is to save the economy, or whatever, there isn't much sense to guess the motivation of political activities, which always have very complex combination and reasoning can change with different angles.

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