This past weekend, the Communist Party magazine Seeking Truth published an article by Xi Jinping, “Make good use of red resources, pass on the red gene, and pass on the red mountains for generations to come.” This is an old Cultural Revolution phrase that Xi Jinping particularly prefers.
Xi Jinping certainly did not just recently have a whim to burst out with the bold words of more than 60 years ago. In fact, since taking office, he has often talked about “communist beliefs”, “revolutionary traditions” and “red rivers and mountains”. Not only that, Xi Jinping wants the whole party and the whole country to be like him, to put this red language on the lips, even in action, melting in the blood. He kept visiting Jinggang Mountain, Beijing Fragrant Hill, Xibaipo, Yan’an and other holy places of the Chinese Communist Revolution, asking the whole country to remember where the red regime came from. In April, when Xi visited the Xiangjiang Battle Memorial Park in Guilin, Guangxi, he asked the whole country to learn from the spirit and philosophy of the Red Army soldiers, who were “as determined to die as they were to return, to live to die, and to go forward”.
Listening to these revolutionary words, you cannot help but feel that the language and thinking of a 21st century Communist Party leader is still stuck in the 1960s. His obsolescence and obsolescence are so extreme that his predecessors, including Deng Xiaoping, Jiang Zemin and Hu Jintao, are all out of reach. Deng, Jiang and Hu were more or less able to keep up with the times during their respective years in power, but in Xi’s time, all that keeping up with the times has given way to a stale and rigid red culture. Among them, Xi’s obsession with red propaganda is to the point of going off the rails.
However, if you think about it, you will find that Xi Jinping actually has reasons to be obsessed. The first reason is to use red propaganda to show the world that he is the true successor of the Communist Party. This propaganda shows to the outside world his “red” genes and “orthodox” status, that is, he is the rightful successor of Mao Zedong among the five generations of Chinese Communist leaders. Red resources, red genes, red rivers and mountains and the ravings of “red rivers and mountains will never change” have become the iconic political symbols of Xi Jinping’s era.
The second reason is to use red propaganda as a political tool to build momentum for the centennial of the Communist Party and to make the people follow the Party unconditionally. In his article, Xi Jinping said that whenever he visited old revolutionary areas for research, he visited places commemorating revolutionary history; he did so to caution the whole Party and the whole country not to forget how the Communist regime and today’s happy life came about; and to declare that the CPC will always hold high the red banner, firmly follow the road of socialism with Chinese characteristics, and keep pushing forward the cause started by its forefathers. Xi Jinping has always used red propaganda as a political tool to harness the people, asking them to “always follow the Party”. By the time the Communist Party celebrates its centennial, it will be even more necessary for Xi to do so.
The third reason is to use red propaganda to “live from the dead” and face the daunting challenges facing the Communist Party. Xi Jinping certainly faces some difficult problems that must be “born from the dead”. What are the challenges? Externally, Xi and the CCP have been left alone, with a growing feud with the United States and declining relations with the European Union, Australia and New Zealand. Internally, economic recovery and demographic issues are no small challenges for the CCP. Then again, if Xi is re-elected at the 20th Communist Party Congress, will it be a curse or a blessing for him? Some overseas media already smell ominous signs that Xi will be distraught.
Interestingly, Xi’s obsession with red propaganda certainly reflects his Red II mentality, which is self-explanatory. But where are the second generation Reds today? Liu Shaoqi’s son Liu Yuan was retired soon after Xi came to power; Luo Ruiqing’s son Luo Yu’s dozens of “persuasive” letters did not help Xi Jinping’s heart; Bo Yibo’s son Bo Xilai was imprisoned for life; Deng Xiaoping’s son and Xi Jinping broke up over whether to stick to Deng Xiaoping’s line; Hu Yaobang’s son broke up with Xi Jinping long ago because of different ideas. The son of Hu Yaobang has long since parted ways with Xi Jinping because of differences in philosophy, while Ren Zhiqiang has been sent to jail for speaking a few words of truth, Cai Xia is stranded overseas and cannot return home, and Wang Jun, the son of Wang Zhen, who shares the same vision as Xi Jinping, died prematurely, while a large number of the second generation of Reds who have something to say cannot help but remain silent. The first of these is a new generation of the Red Army. Xi Jinping’s political thinking is really out of date.
Xi Jinping is so obsessed with red propaganda that he pities the country and the people he rules. How unfortunate for them to be immersed in this absurd and rotten red culture day in and day out!
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