In the Midnight Hour, Xi Cried "Mao, Mao, Mao"

[Manhole Eunuchsbane]

 https://www.vox.com/world/2017/10/24/16533526/china-xi-jinping-constitution-chinese-congress-mao?ICID=ref_fark

 

 

/I totally stole this title from a thread on another site. Thought it was too good not to share.

[GAROVORKIN]

It sounds almost like he's just made himself Emperor of China in all but name . 

[Prince of the North]

9 hours ago, Manhole Eunuchsbane said:

 https://www.vox.com/world/2017/10/24/16533526/china-xi-jinping-constitution-chinese-congress-mao?ICID=ref_fark

 

 

/I totally stole this title from a thread on another site. Thought it was too good not to share.

That IS a fantastic thread title!  

And I'm kinda in awe that not only did Xi get himself written into the constitution but it was done unanimously across 2,300+ delegates.  Looking at the state of politics in the US right now, that's a mind-boggling level of unity/cooperation to me 

[Manhole Eunuchsbane]

Just now, Prince of the North said:

That IS a fantastic thread title!  

And I'm kinda in awe that not only did Xi get himself written into the constitution but it was done unanimously across 2,300+ delegates.  Looking at the state of politics in the US right now, that's a mind-boggling level of unity/cooperation to me 

Kind of scary to boot. 

[Horza]

1 hour ago, Prince of the North said:

That IS a fantastic thread title!  

And I'm kinda in awe that not only did Xi get himself written into the constitution but it was done unanimously across 2,300+ delegates.  Looking at the state of politics in the US right now, that's a mind-boggling level of unity/cooperation to me 

Yeah it's almost like the Chinese Communist Party is some kind of Leninist power vertical.

[SnowSandStormStone]

Nothing intelligent to say, except to echo others in saying thumbs up on that thread title!

[snowleper]

2 hours ago, Prince of the North said:

That IS a fantastic thread title!  

It would be good, if Xi was having a wet dream about Mao. Or being creamed into by Billie Idol. (And apparently really liking it). But maybe we'll get a taste of that in five years. Hard to say.

 

[Manhole Eunuchsbane]

21 minutes ago, snowleper said:

It would be good, if Xi was having a wet dream about Mao. Or being creamed into by Billie Idol. (And apparently really liking it). But maybe we'll get a taste of that in five years. Hard to say.

 Doubt we'll get that bolded bit. I hear Billy prefers dancing with himself.

[snowleper]

7 minutes ago, Manhole Eunuchsbane said:

 Doubt we'll get that bolded bit. I hear Billy prefers dancing with himself.

Now that was actually good. Well done.

[Tongue Stuck to Wall]

Xi having himself ensconced into the Chinese constitution and the possibility he may try to stay on power officially once his second mandate elapses are not big surprises.  He was a bit of a compromise candidate on unsteady ground when he was named President / Head of CPC at the Big 18, so it's natural that he'd seek to solidify his power as his tenure continued.  His personal history with the vagaries of Chinese politics play a role too, but we all get that.  He is also astute and knows the challenges the CPC will face in the near future.

What was surprising to me was the fact he's retained politburo members whose loyalty still belongs to his successors: Hu Jintao and Jiang Zemin.  This is Chinese political pragmatism at its finest. Xi knows that the major challenge to the Party is the growth of apathy or outright resistance to its rule as China's population becomes more affluent and exposed, for the time being, to western ideologies.  He's essentially circling the wagons and has therefore set up a politburo which is inclusive.  He is leaving nothing to chance in terms of eroding the base of the Party and knows that its leadership will be stronger if he can ameliorate its traditional internecine rivalries - better the evil you know than a fragmented party more vulnerable to outside attack.

Xi's an ideologue, much more overtly than Jiang or Hu, but he's had to be.  China's reaching the tipping point with regards to the strength of the Party's possible enemies - to wit, reformers or populist sentiment in favour of democratization.  The latest generations of Chinese are well-educated (often in the west), financially well-off and decidely non-ideologically dogmatic.  The CPC has never faced what they perceive as threats like this, and its response under Xi has been tightening the reins.

What would not surprise me is if the CPC in the next five to ten years engenders a modern form of the Policy of Seclusion.  They are desperate to reduce the level of foreign influence in the country.  Already, university faculties are being instructed to reduce the number of Western Civilization courses they teach, to be replaced with Chinese history and Marxist instruction based curricula.  Economically and militarily, China is now almost in the position to shrug off their reliance on the west.  As industrial second-movers they have caught up to the west in many ways and are gradually establishing a solid global network of resource suppliers / markets for their manufactured goods and other commodities. 

So the future does indeed look like CPC entrenchment. Their economy is rapidly maturing, and the free-for-all days introduced by Deng Xiaoping are still working, but the party is acutely aware of the political and social ramifications of its unfettered progress.

 

[Ser Scot A Ellison]

38 minutes ago, Tongue Stuck to Wall said:

Xi having himself ensconced into the Chinese constitution and the possibility he may try to stay on power officially once his second mandate elapses are not big surprises.  He was a bit of a compromise candidate on unsteady ground when he was named President / Head of CPC at the Big 18, so it's natural that he'd seek to solidify his power as his tenure continued.  His personal history with the vagaries of Chinese politics play a role too, but we all get that.  He is also astute and knows the challenges the CPC will face in the near future.

What was surprising to me was the fact he's retained politburo members whose loyalty still belongs to his successors: Hu Jintao and Jiang Zemin.  This is Chinese political pragmatism at its finest. Xi knows that the major challenge to the Party is the growth of apathy or outright resistance to its rule as China's population becomes more affluent and exposed, for the time being, to western ideologies.  He's essentially circling the wagons and has therefore set up a politburo which is inclusive.  He is leaving nothing to chance in terms of eroding the base of the Party and knows that its leadership will be stronger if he can ameliorate its traditional internecine rivalries - better the evil you know than a fragmented party more vulnerable to outside attack.

Xi's an ideologue, much more overtly than Jiang or Hu, but he's had to be.  China's reaching the tipping point with regards to the strength of the Party's possible enemies - to wit, reformers or populist sentiment in favour of democratization.  The latest generations of Chinese are well-educated (often in the west), financially well-off and decidely non-ideologically dogmatic.  The CPC has never faced what they perceive as threats like this, and its response under Xi has been tightening the reins.

What would not surprise me is if the CPC in the next five to ten years engenders a modern form of the Policy of Seclusion.  They are desperate to reduce the level of foreign influence in the country.  Already, university faculties are being instructed to reduce the number of Western Civilization courses they teach, to be replaced with Chinese history and Marxist instruction based curricula.  Economically and militarily, China is now almost in the position to shrug off their reliance on the west.  As industrial second-movers they have caught up to the west in many ways and are gradually establishing a solid global network of resource suppliers / markets for their manufactured goods and other commodities. 

So the future does indeed look like CPC entrenchment. Their economy is rapidly maturing, and the free-for-all days introduced by Deng Xiaoping are still working, but the party is acutely aware of the political and social ramifications of its unfettered progress.

 

Please tell me we are seeing a push back to the Confucisian ideals of Imperial China and not the potential for a second "Cultural Revolution" in an effort to purge China of decadent "Western" ideals?

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

This NPR podcast is definitely worth checking out:

https://the1a.org/shows/2017-10-12/china-how-a-superpower-sets-its-agenda

It sounds like XI has amassed absolute power, which is terrible for the average Chinese citizen. Expect the crackdowns to spike in the next few years.  

[Ser Scot A Ellison]

59 minutes ago, Tywin et al. said:

This NPR podcast is definitely worth checking out:

https://the1a.org/shows/2017-10-12/china-how-a-superpower-sets-its-agenda

It sounds like XI has amassed absolute power, which is terrible for the average Chinese citizen. Expect the crackdowns to spike in the next few years.  

The real question is "what is he going to do with his 'absolute power'"?

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

29 minutes ago, Ser Scot A Ellison said:

The real question is "what is he going to do with his 'absolute power'"?

Do everything in his power to make sure growth doesn’t decline and establish total hegemonic status in South East Asia. Those are China’s top priorities.

[Manhole Eunuchsbane]

/Jesus Fucking Christ.

[GAROVORKIN]

On 10/26/2017 at 10:18 AM, Ser Scot A Ellison said:

The real question is "what is he going to do with his 'absolute power'"?

Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely 

 Lord Acton

Despite his claim that he wants to rid China and the communist party of corruption and graft . But in the end he will be tempted to engage in that sort of behavior himself.  He will  enrich himself , his family and his loyal retainers at the expense of the country . 

 

 

[Hereward]

I think you're a bit late on this prediction. His family is already worth something like £400m. 

[GAROVORKIN]

9 minutes ago, Hereward said:

I think you're a bit late on this prediction. His family is already worth something like £400m. 

 

Then he's going make himself and his family a lot richer.

[Ser Scot A Ellison]

1 hour ago, GAROVORKIN said:

Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely 

 Lord Acton

Despite his claim that he wants to rid China and the communist party of corruption and graft . But in the end he will be tempted to engage in that sort of behavior himself.  He will  enrich himself , his family and his loyal retainers at the expense of the country . 

 

 

I really want to know if he's heading for a new imperial Chinese dynasty?  It's not as though China hasn't been familiar with one man rule for centuries.

[GAROVORKIN]

14 minutes ago, Ser Scot A Ellison said:

I really want to know if he's heading for a new imperial Chinese dynasty?  It's not as though China hasn't been familiar with one man rule for centuries.

 That wouldn't surprise me in the least.