Teaching Comparative Government and Politics

Tuesday, January 05, 2016

Xi or Mao?

What do you not understand about democratic centralism?

China’s Xi tells grumbling party cadres: ‘Don’t talk back’

Careless talk could cost you your job. Especially if you bad-mouth the boss.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has carried out the most far-reaching anti-corruption campaign in Communist Party history — at the same time as the harshest crackdown on free speech in decades.

Now he is tightening the screws further, outlawing internal dissent within the party through new disciplinary rules…

The purge is an attempt to silence rising dissent within the party, experts say, and is a reflection of Xi’s obsession with control, as well as the dramatic centralization of power he has engineered in the past two years.

To his supporters, it is another attempt to restore discipline and ideological purity to a party riddled with corruption and cynicism.

To his critics, the move carries disturbing echoes of the dark days of Mao Zedong.

Xi speaking at the World Internet Conference

Xi, they say, has surrounded himself with sycophants who can only deliver good news. He is undermining the ideas of collective leadership and “intraparty democracy” that the Party had adopted — and trumpeted — after Mao’s death, and replacing them with a return to one-man rule…

China’s president has taken personal control of policymaking in a way no leader has since the time of Mao, and seems to be popular among the Chinese people. But his anti-corruption campaign has riled a proportion of the Communist Party’s 88 million members…

[T]he party issued new disciplinary regulations outlawing any “improper discussion.”

Last month, the editor-in-chief of Xinjiang Daily, Zhao Xinwei, became the first influential party member to be fired for making public comments critical of government policy…

'Rule the party strictly!': Chinese president 'Big Daddy Xi' makes rap debut

Communist party propagandists have traditionally sought inspiration from Marx and Mao when trying to get their message across to the masses. Now they are looking to Eric B and Rakim.

Hoping to boost the image of the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, propaganda officials this week transformed him into a microphone fiend, releasing a 2min 44s rap in which the man they call “Big Daddy Xi” contributes backing vocals.

“Rule the party strictly! Govern the country by law. [The whole country] is overwhelmed with joy,” announces one of the rap’s opening stanzas, according to a translation by Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post…

Below are the lyrics to the rap cartoon:

“The Reform Group is Two Years Old”

The Reform Group is Two Years Old 2015

Gotta eye the reform group in 2015

[It] pushes economic development and a wealthier society

[It] improves [government] services

[Must] streamline the administration and delegate power to lower levels

[Must] believe in the government

Let hands that should not move stay unmoved, let the market rule

They insist on fighting corruption

They specialise in hitting tigers

Rule the party strictly

Govern the country by law

[The whole country] is overwhelmed with joy Unfold the three stricts and three honests

Let the people supervise

Put a tight lid on corrupt officials who put out their hands recklessly

The reform group is two years old, it has done quite a lot

Change the education system, change the medical system, change the household registration system, CHANGE CHANGE CHANGE CHANGE!

Help the people, benefit the people, don’t tire people

Fight poverty with precision

[Xi’s sound bite] Let the people’s wishes become our action

The reform group is two years old, it has done quite a lot Change the pricing system, change taxes, change SOEs, CHANGE CHANGE CHANGE CHANGE!

Streamline the administration and delegate power to lower levels, unleash energy

Reform the supply side [economy] and upgrade the economy

[Xi’s sound bite] An arrow will never return once it’s shot by a bow

The reform group is two years old, it has done quite a lot

Flies, tigers, big foxes, CATCH CATCH CATCH CATCH!

To rule the party strictly we must harden our bodies, the judicial reform must be victorious

[Xi’s sound bite] All corruption must be punished. Every corrupt official must be prosecuted

The reform group is two years old, it has done quite a lot

Cure the water, cure the air, cure the land, CURE CURE CURE CURE!

Clear water and lush mountains equals a mountain of gold

This is what is we must do on “One Belt, One Road”

[Xi’s sound bite] The principle of wide consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits.

Push progress in Asia and Europe

It’s name is “One Belt, One Road”

Free-trade [zone] opened, mutual help on law and finance

Founding of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, accelerating the building of infrastructure

The yuan admitted to SDR

They hate smog to the bone

To preserve ecology, [they are] determined to open the bow

Shut down the ones that are supposed to be shut down

Suspend those who are supposed to be suspended

With clear water and lush mountains, a new march can start

The reform group is two years old, it has done quite a lot

Change the pricing system, change taxes, change SOEs, CHANGE CHANGE CHANGE CHANGE!

Help the people, benefit the people, don’t tire people

Fight poverty with precision

[Xi] Let the people’s wish become our action

The reform group is two years old, it has done quite a lot

Change the pricing system, change taxes, change SOEs, CHANGE CHANGE CHANGE CHANGE!

Streamline the administration and delegate power to lower levels and unleash energy

Reform the supply side [economy] and upgrade the economy

[Xi] only the daring will prevail at key stages of reform

The reform group is two years old, it has done quite a lot

Flies, tigers, big foxes, CATCH CATCH CATCH CATCH!

To rule the party strictly we must harden our bodies, the judicial reform must be victorious

[Xi] Hold the sword to fight corruption high

The reform group is two years old, it has done quite a lot

Cure the water, cure the air, cure the land, CURE CURE CURE CURE!

Clear water and lush mountains equals a mountain of gold

This is what is we must do on “One Belt, One Road”

[Xi] It’s not closed, but open and tolerant

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