Xi Jinping

Red Culture

Red Culture

Xi Jinping’s rise to power in the Chinese Communist Party

‘This is the greatest crisis facing the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) since Tiananmen Square’ is a statement that one hears after almost every scandal in China, and eventually starts to sound like a cliché. But the obvious thing to point out is, at some point, there must be a crisis that warrants the comparison. And it’s hard to think of a better equivalent than coronavirus. I believe this is the greatest challenge the party has faced this century, and how the party will look when it emerges is one of the most important questions not only for China’s, but the world’s future.

The current political infighting that has embroiled the party has its origins in the type of politics developed during Xi Jinping’s time as leader. How the party got to this stage is a fascinating insight into the nature of one-party rule and the conflicts such a system creates.

Why China Won't Reform

Why China Won't Reform

Facing up to the new threat

In 1994, US President Bill Clinton gave a press conference in China to discuss relations between the two countries, and the state of human rights development. Five years after thousands had been gunned down in the streets of Beijing and hundreds more killed in Tibet, they were looking less than optimal.

Ever the optimist though, Bill made it clear that although there were serious human rights abuses continuing in China, he was sure they were dreadfully sorry about what had happened in 89, and felt things were improving. Just like Korea and Taiwan, he said, it was clear that as Western products flooded into China, democratisation would inevitably follow. China even enjoyed most favoured nation status with the US all throughout the 1990s in an attempt to accelerate this process. Putting up with the show trials and labour camps were just the cost of doing business.