After emerging as the most powerful leader in Chinese history by securing a record third term at the recent party congress, several analysts suggest that Xi Jinping is aiming to take control of people’s imagination, Geopolitica reported.
He will be controlling not just the country and the people, but also the paths they take to achieve their goals, the report said, adding that it will leave everything thoughtout and decreed, leaving nothing at all for the people’s imagination.
“What this implies is that the room for policy experimentation is only likely to further shrink for Chinese officials and cadres at different levels,” Geopolitica reported.
It further cited an article by Ding Xuexiang, the sixth-ranked member of the Politburo Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party.
“Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era adheres to the combination of theory and practice, the integration of strategy and tactics, and the unity of world outlook and methodology; it discusses how to view and how act. It not only outlines the task of ‘crossing the river’, but it also offers guidance on resolving the ‘bridge or boat’ question. In doing so, it provides a powerful ideological weapon for the Party to lead the people to unite and struggle, and also provides scientific work guidance,” the article read.
The Communist Party is trying to present ‘Xi Thought’ as a theory, the principle as well as the path. It is being presented as the essence of Chinese communist ethos that the people must imbibe, the report added.
“It is necessary to profoundly understand the core essence, rich connotation, and practical requirements of this important thought, so as to arm the mind and educate the people, firmly establish the belief in Marxism, communism, and Socialism with Chinese characteristics, and confidence in the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, and then consolidate the common ideological foundation of unity and struggle. When it comes to major issues of principle, such as the banner, the path, and the direction, one must be particularly bright-eyed, the mind should be particularly clear, and the position should be particularly firm. There must be no ambiguity, hesitation, or vacillation,” the article reads.
The party wants the people to aspire not for material or capital prosperity but the prosperity of culture and history as defined by the ‘Xi Thought’, the report states.
“The great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation has taken the path of Chinese-style modernization. Chinese-style modernization is a modernisation with a huge population, the common prosperity of all people, the coordination of material civilisation and spiritual civilization, the harmonious coexistence of man and nature, and the modernisation of peaceful development. This is essentially different from the modernisation of Western countries, which has been capital-centered modernisation, polarised modernisation, a modernisation of materialist expansion and external expansion and modernisation based on plunder,” it said.
The party also expects the fundamental duty of the Chinese people to be loyal to the party as well as the party leader, with the aim of controlling their economic and cultural emotions, Geopolitica reported.
“We must deeply understand the decisive significance of the Two Establishments more firmly and consciously achieve the two safeguards, and always maintain a high degree of consistency with the Party Central Committee with comrade Xi Jinping at the core in terms of the political position, political direction, political principles, and political path. In order to achieve the two safeguards, we must have a correct understanding and take corrective actions, and must not shout slogans or engage in any form of ‘low-level red’ and ‘high-level black’,” the article read.
The theory will be determining how President Xi will be dealing with internal unrest in case of future economic setbacks. Also, the theory will be providing answers to the questions of Chinese people about rising unemployment, rising costs of commodities, lack of regular promotions, and avenues for coming up in the profession, reported the publication.
According to the latest party tenets, the party and the people will be given a “fundamental guideline for their thoughts and actions, and the unity and struggle will have an ideological foundation and a correct direction”, it claimed.
All this clearly seems to suggest that Xi Jinping will be able to control the minds of the Chinese people in such an authoritative manner, that no other leader Chinese leader other than Mao Zedong can come close to, the report said.