As China’s National People’s Congress draws to a close, what will be remembered from the annual event known as the “hand-raising machine”? At the very least, it was surprising to see “veteran” Wang Qishan repeatedly praise Xi Jinping in a sworn tone in a short speech. As Xi’s second term as president draws to a close, observers see Wang’s move as a clear bid to keep Xi in power.
As China’s vice president, Wang Qishan’s speech at the Hunan delegation’s discussion on March 6 was not much new. Wang Qishan is far from the kind of deterrent force he was when he helped Xi Jinping fight corruption, and he should have stepped down at the 19th National Congress because of his merits in helping Xi, but ended up serving as vice president on an exceptional basis. The vice president’s role is more ceremonial, and although he is considered the “eighth standing committee,” he has done little concrete work.
But the two sessions are the right occasion to proclaim it loudly. According to Xinhua, Wang Qishan referred to Xi Jinping eight times in his short speech: “Xi Jinping Thought should be taken as the fundamental guideline ……” “Be guided by Xi Jinping’s thought ……” To “Xi core” how how, “in thought and action to maintain a high degree of consistency with the Party Central Committee with Xi Jinping as the core” and so on, Wang Qishan is to express loyalty, or to strengthen the power of Xi Jinping? At least, after Wang Qishan took the lead, observers noticed that this year’s two sessions were again better than ever in hailing and celebrating Xi.
Since Xi Jinping’s second term, especially after the abolition of the presidential term system through “constitutional amendments,” the trend of promoting Xi has intensified, led by Xi’s cronies, such as Li Zhanshu, who calls Xi Jinping “one of the most respected,” and those who have squeezed into the circle of cronies through strong promotion but are not very active recently. The most important thing is that the government has been very active in the past. Beijing Party Secretary Cai Qi, Chongqing Party Secretary Chen Miner, Guangdong Party Secretary Li Xi and others. Li Qiang, secretary of the Shanghai Municipal Party Committee, is not far behind.
Veteran commentator Zheng Zhongyuan pointed out that this year’s “two sessions” of the latest round of praise Xi trend is more rare. The main reason is that the remarks of senior officials praising Xi Jinping have been published in a high-profile article by Xinhua News Agency, with special emphasis on Xi’s title of “helmsman”, which is an imitation of Mao Zedong and even surpasses Mao, obviously to build momentum for his re-election to the 20th National Congress. But he noted that the scale of this declaration of loyalty showed that there was a sense of everyone passing.
Wang Qishan is also credited with that constitutional amendment that abolished the term of office of the president. The amendment paved the way for Xi’s re-election, but Xi has since been hit by a U.S.-China trade war, a storm of anti-China delivery in Hong Kong, and a new crown Epidemic crisis that has left China’s image increasingly bleak around the world.
The CCP now has full control of Hong Kong, and Xi has declared victory against the epidemic and a historic victory against poverty. Victory after victory, Xi’s declaration of victory is, in the view of observers, ostensibly a tribute to the centennial of the CCP this year, but in essence a way for all to accept his victory, invariably acknowledging his brilliance and paving the way for a third term of breaking the CCP’s rules.
Xi’s cronies have already done a lot of singing, and the personnel layout has long been completed, but why should all the top officials take every opportunity to express their loyalty in different ways at the two sessions?
In the view of observers, Xi Jinping, who talks about the “four self-confidences”, is not necessarily so confident about his future, and his dream of a 100-year revival is a long one.
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