Chinese President Xi Jinping (pictured) has been dogged by foreign media reports of great family wealth. Daily Mail
Andrew J. Nathan, New York Review of Books: Who Is Xi?
More than halfway through his five-year term as president of China and general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party—expected to be the first of at least two—Xi Jinping’s widening crackdown on civil society and promotion of a cult of personality have disappointed many observers, both Chinese and foreign, who saw him as destined by family heritage and life experience to be a liberal reformer. Many thought Xi must have come to understand the dangers of Party dictatorship from the experiences of his family under Mao’s rule. His father, Xi Zhongxun (1913–2002), was almost executed in an inner-Party conflict in 1935, was purged in another struggle in 1962, was “dragged out” and tortured during the Cultural Revolution, and was eased into retirement after another Party confrontation in 1987. During the Cultural Revolution, one of Xi Jinping’s half-sisters was tormented to the point that she committed suicide. Jinping himself, as the offspring of a “capitalist roader,” was “sent down to the countryside” to labor alongside the peasants. The hardships were so daunting that he reportedly tried to escape, but was caught and sent back.
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WNU Editor: My Chinese contacts told me 2 years ago that Xi Jinping was an apologist for Mao .... I did not believe them then .... but if this Andrew J. Nathan's post is correct .... it looks like he is. But is he like Mao .... no .... not even close. Xi Jingping is pursuing his own agenda and his own view on where he believes China should be, and spreading the ideals of Mao is not one of them.
This NYRB post is a good analysis on the President of China .... and is a must read for any China watcher. As to what is my take .... President Xi has two and a half years left in his term .... and then he is gone. In his place I will not be surprised that there will be someone who will pull back on many of the political/military/economic policy decisions that President Xi has implemented .... and more importantly temper and scale back the anti-corruption drive that President Xi has been pushing. The only thing that concerns me is .... what happens if President Xi decides to not respect the term limit that he is under. What happens if he decides to stay in power beyond his mandate. This is what my Chinese friends are worried about .... and that is why they are telling me to watch out for flashpoints like the South China Sea and/or troublesome economic trends. If there is a crisis .... President Xi may stay in power longer than what many had originally expected and/or hoped for.
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