The ‘chairman of everything’ cements his control over China
In September 2012, two months before he was crowned as Communist Party of China (CPC) general secretary, vicepresident Xi Jinping disappeared from public view. Then, just like that, on September 15, Xi was back, with Xinhua publishing a one-line captioned photo, showing him attending an event at the China Agricultural University in Beijing.
Nine years later, forget disappearing from public space, Xi has stamped his seal of authority on China forever — and elevated himself to the stature of Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping. As leading China scholar and historian, Geremie R Barme, once noted, Xi is now “chairman of everything”.
Xi has all but ensured that he will carry on as China’s leader for — at least — an additional five years when the generational, oncein-a-decade, CPC Congress takes place in the second half of 2022.
China’s propaganda machinery has created a cult of personality around him. The general secretary’s photos and daily activities adorn China’s State-controlled media, day in, day out; his thoughts are enshrined in textbooks; bookshops display books on Xi’s thoughts; last week, local media carried his voiceover for stories he wanted to share with the people of China; and every day, China’s armed forces are reminded that they should be guided by Xi’s leadership and his thoughts.
Nothing encapsulates the State media’s devotion to Xi more than a Xinhua article on him, published a day ahead of the 19th CPC’s sixth Plenum. Xi is “a man of determination and action, a man of profound thoughts and feelings, a man who inherited a legacy and dares to innovate, and a man who has forward-looking vision and is committed to working tirelessly”.
In the last nine years, Xi has determined China and its policies. Starting from the anti-corruption campaign in 2013 followed by the Belt and Road Initiative to the recent common prosperity drive, the general secretary is now the helmsman. He has led a more globally assertive China, involving aggressive posturing on Taiwan, maritime border disputes in the South China Sea and serious tension with India on the boundary dispute.
The darker side of Xi’s reign has been glossed over inside China, even if it has involved persecution of its people — but then China has a history of doing so. Xi’s rule has been marked by worsening persecution of ethnic minorities in Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia and Tibet, three autonomous regions, the targeting of whistleblowers and regime critics, the crackdown in Hong Kong, the evident lack of support for the MeToo movement, and the initial mishandling — even cover-up — of the coronavirus pandemic in the central Chinese city of Wuhan.
“Since Xi Jinping came to power the repression has gotten worse and worse overall, in every aspect of Chinese society you can see how the party is becoming more intolerant of any kind of independent activity,” Yaqiu Wang from Human Rights Watch, wrote in a report earlier this year.
Meanwhile, no explanation has ever been given for the vice-president’s absence from public space during those two weeks in 2012. No explanation has also been offered yet why President Xi hasn’t left China since his return from Myanmar on January 18, 2020. As if on cue, the country itself remains somewhat isolated with international travel severely restricted. But, in China, you can’t question the “chairman of everything” — who has all the answers.
IN THE LAST NINE YEARS, XI HAS LED A MORE GLOBALLY ASSERTIVE CHINA, INVOLVING AGGRESSIVE POSTURING ON TAIWAN, MARITIME DISPUTES IN THE SOUTH CHINA SEA AND SERIOUS TENSION WITH INDIA ON THE BOUNDARY DISPUTE