French media: Wang Qishan and Wen Jiabao very different meaningful

Xi Jinping (R), who recently became general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC), shakes hands with then-Premier Wen Jiabao (C), with CPC President Hu Jintao to his left, during the opening ceremony of the National People’s Congress at the Great Hall in Beijing on March 5, 2013.

Wen Jiabao’s long article “In Memory of My Mother” in the “foreign publication” Macau Herald, which was banned by WeChat, has sparked a lot of controversy so far. The French media compared Wang Qishan and Wen Jiabao, two Chinese political figures whose popularity has not yet subsided, and said that Wang Qishan is too far behind Wen Jiabao.

According to an April 28 article in the French press, in the context of the Chinese Communist Party, overseas publications, mainly referring to Hong Kong and Macao publications, are quite taboo under Xi Jinping’s regime, and many officials have been severely punished by being expelled from the Party, dismissed from office and investigated, or even convicted of crimes for passing overseas publications. Why did Wen Jiabao dare to publish an article in an overseas publication without permission, violating Xi Jinping’s “political discipline and political rules”?

The article quotes Wang Dan, a leader of the June Fourth Movement, as saying that Wen’s move was “of a whiny nature, expressing his discontent to Xi Jinping.”

The article argues that in the controversy over Wen Jiabao, there is an argument that senior Communist Party officials are a potpourri and you can hardly distinguish them from each other. But it is pointed out that even the CCP group has produced enlightened leaders like Zhao Ziyang and Hu Yaobang, and Gorbachev and Yeltsin, who came from the Soviet Communist Party, which means that the possibility of an enlightened figure in an authoritarian party exists.

The article says that Wen Jiabao may not be comparable to Hu and Zhao, but he also represents such a possibility. Some people criticize that when he was on stage, he said more than he did and his words were not consistent with his actions, which is undoubtedly true. If he had done everything he said, there would not have been the later constitutional amendment by Xi Jinping. The power of words has long been confirmed by history, some words did not work at the time, but later may work, which is why people always admire people who dare to speak. That is why people always admire those who speak up. Wen Jiabao was in a high position to say those words, but he was the only one who said that at the top of the Communist Party. Today, the environment for such words does not exist in the top echelons of the CCP.

According to the article, everyone said the end of Wen Jiabao’s article in honor of his mother carried a lot of weight, saying that his ideal China should be “a country full of fairness and justice” and “where there is always respect for the human heart, humanity and the essence of human beings. Such words would not have seemed excessive in a more normal era, such as the Hu-Wen years, but they are problematic under Xi Jinping’s rule. This is because the time is the eve of Xi Jinping’s imminent tenure, when he is announcing China’s comprehensive victory in poverty eradication and preparing for the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Party, and there is no room for sand in his eyes.

Another noteworthy detail in Wen’s article is that he deliberately mentions his father’s inhuman treatment during the Cultural Revolution. At this critical moment when Xi Jinping asks not to separate the first 30 years of the Cultural Revolution from the second 30 years of the Cultural Revolution, he deliberately emphasizes the evils of the Cultural Revolution, and the fact that it comes from Wen Jiabao has its own unusual significance. Moreover, Wen Jiabao’s recollection of the Cultural Revolution naturally reminds people of his last press conference with the premier in which he expressed his hatred for the Cultural Revolution. He said at the time that if China did not reform its political system, the Cultural Revolution would be revived.

According to the article, the Cultural Revolution is a sin in Wen’s eyes, and the history of that sin is very closely linked to his family and to the families of millions of Chinese people.

The article also compares Wang Qishan, who is still in power as vice president of the Communist Party, pointing out that the current political environment in China is evident from the trembling performance of Chinese Vice President Wang Qishan, who is afraid of Xi Jinping. The more Xi Jinping has a sense of insecurity, the more officials around him are afraid of him. Wang Qishan’s case is typical.

According to the article, Wang Qishan used to be a shrewd and powerful man, known as the “fire-fighting captain”. As a teenager, he and Xi Jinping worked together in the Yan’an area, where they are said to have shared a quilt. Wang Qishan has also helped Xi Jinping purge dissidents with his anti-corruption efforts, and has been “instrumental” in helping him plan for a “constitutional amendment” that would eliminate the term of office of the president. But his performance at the Boao conference the other day was very circumstantial.

Wang Qishan was all smiles and trepidation at the Boao opening ceremony that day. He humbly referred to himself as the “temporary host” to warm up for President Xi Jinping, and he deliberately added, “In our country, this is done because it is our respect for President Xi Jinping.” Wang Qishan has been described as “nodding his head and humbling his back.”

The article said that before the show at Boao, Wang Qishan took the lead in praising Xi Jinping at a panel meeting of the National People’s Congress in May this year, but with his “merits”, does he really need to do that? I don’t think he’s thinking of staying on next year, is he? In short, he is behaving very differently from former Premier Wen Jiabao.

The article says that there are endless debates about Wen’s character. But the fact that Wen Jiabao is still expressing his opinion in some way shows that he is not too afraid to ban him, but rather that someone is afraid of him? This is also not the same as Wang Qishan.

The article concludes by arguing that Wen Jiabao’s article on remembering his mother was blocked when he said a few words about having a conscience, which in itself means a lot, and with Wen Jiabao’s experience in Zhongnanhai, he is afraid he knows it well, so why would he do it? At this time today, he still has the heart to dance, not like Wang Qishan as trembling, nodding and meaningful.