On the occasion of the 55th anniversary of the Cultural Revolution, the far-left forces inside and outside the Communist Party of China (CPC) are pushing for a rampant revival of the Cultural Revolution. In the midst of this undercurrent or frenzy of the Cultural Revolution revival, Kong Qingdong, a representative of the Maoist left, even declared: Mao Zedong Thought is the greatest thought of mankind in 6,000 years, and no one has surpassed it so far; the peak of human art is the model play (of Jiang Qing), which cannot be surpassed.
However, the commemoration of the Cultural Revolution, which was organized by Mao’s leftists, was called off at the last minute, why? There is only one possibility: the extreme leftists, led by Xi Jinping and Wang Huning, were frustrated within the Party, especially at the top of the Communist Party, and could not do what they wanted, so they had to stop it temporarily.
Within the Party, the anti-Xi camp, which is the antithesis of Xi Jinping and the Xi family army, and is dominated by the Tuan faction, clearly disapproves of any kind of Cultural Revolution restoration. So much so that pro-Xi Jinping mouthpieces have threatened to break the seven-up, eight-down rule and turn it into seven-down, eight-up, creating a stone-cold shock of a change in personnel at the 20th National Congress; and named Li Keqiang and Wang Yang, who will turn 67 next year, as having been in the bureau for three terms and may not need to stay.
The enlightened and mainstream faction of political elders is also clearly opposed to any form of vindication of the Cultural Revolution. On the eve of this year’s Qingming Festival, former Premier Wen Jiabao stepped in to speak out and hammer away at the ultra-leftist line.
In a remembrance and memorial to his mother, Wen sarcastically implied that Xi Jinping blindly imitated Mao: “Many things can be imitated among people, even painstakingly done. But the only thing that cannot be faked is the sincerity, simplicity and kindness of emotion and heart. Just look at his eyes, look at his compassion, look at his courage in distress, look at his spirit of commitment at the critical moment of the country’s future and destiny, you can get a glimpse of his true.”
Wen Jiabao went on to say, “I sympathize with the poor and the weak, and oppose bullying and oppression. The China I have in mind should be a country full of fairness and justice, where there will always be respect for the human heart, humanity and the essence of man, and where there will always be the temperament of youth, freedom and struggle.” Here, Wen Jiabao meant something, clearly targeting Xi Jinping’s persecution of ethnic minorities, bullying of Hong Kong people, and threats to Taiwan and small countries around the South China Sea.
Using his own tenure as an example, Wen cautioned Xi Jinping, “At the beginning of your tenure, you should always make a return plan.” Xi Jinping was advised to retire in time and not to overstep the Party consensus formed after the reform and opening up: the term of office of leaders should not exceed two terms.
In fact, who wants to vindicate the Cultural Revolution? Even within Xi’s army, opposition has emerged. One of the recent news and rumors about Vice Premier Liu He is that he fell out with Xi Jinping because of his opposition to reassessing the Cultural Revolution. Liu He’s father was the secretary of the Southwest Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC), and was criticized during the Cultural Revolution. This tragic event must have left a permanent and indelible shock and sting in Liu He’s heart, and as long as he is a basically normal person with a minimum of rationality, it is impossible for him to accept any attempt to reevaluate and vindicate the Cultural Revolution.
After Xi and Liu lost their peace, not only was the position of Xi’s perennial companion to Xi Jinping’s field visits replaced by Vice Premier Hu Chunhua, but it was also rumored that the position in charge of the US-China trade talks might also be replaced by Hu Chunhua. What’s more, Liu He’s family was suddenly exposed to the news that his son was involved in a huge amount of wealth accumulation. This is obviously a deliberate move by Xi Jinping or someone close to him to leak the news to the foreign media in order to retaliate against Liu He with the public opinion of export to domestic sales.
The disagreement between Xi Jinping and Liu He is like a replica of the disagreement between Xi Jinping and Wang Qishan, which lies in differences in values and ideological lines. In the past year, Wang Qishan and Xi Jinping have sharply disagreed on U.S.-China relations, the U.S.-China trade war, the Hong Kong protests, the Xinjiang concentration camps, and the Great Plague. In retaliation, Xi Jinping has used his power to cut off Wang Qishan’s wing, including his former deputy, Hubei Party Secretary Jiang Chaoliang, his top butler and deputy minister, Dong Hong, and his mentor and friend, Ren Zhiqiang.
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