Two teacups are placed in front of Xi Jinping‘s table at the opening ceremony of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference on March 4. (Video screenshot)
In the language of Chinese Communist Party politics, any symbol or detail can have significant meaning, or represent a rise or fall in status, an open struggle, or a change in fortune or misfortune. At this year’s National People’s Congress, the two teacups that “follow” Xi Jinping at all times were interpreted by the outside world, with Japanese media suggesting that Xi would be “re-elected for a third term” or even stay in power for Life.
The CCTV footage shows that Xi Jinping has two rare “teacups” on the right front of his table, while other members of the CPC Politburo Standing Committee, including Li Keqiang and Li Zhanshu, have only one teacup. With CCTV cameras frequently focusing on Xi Jinping, these two teacups are prominently featured each Time, repeatedly gaining the attention of viewers.
On March 10, Katsuji Nakazawa, a senior editor at Nikkei Shimbun, wrote an article analyzing this rare phenomenon. He interpreted Xi Jinping’s implication that Xi’s time in power would be “far away” in light of the Chinese proverb “when people leave, tea goes cold.
The article writes that in the summer of 2015, the People’s Daily, the mouthpiece of the Communist Party, published a highly suggestive article encouraging a so-called dialectical view of “people leaving and tea getting cold” and asking veteran Communist Party leaders to accept that “if they are not in their positions, they are not in their politics”. The “tea is cold”, and should become a norm. And even warned that “the tea must be cold when people leave, or it will turn rancid.” What does this mean? Mainland netizens have said, “We all understand.”
What do we make of this unusual sight at this year’s National People’s Congress? The Nikkei Shimbun article writes that the two teacups in front of Xi Jinping seem to say that not only is Xi’s current cup of tea (10 years into his term) not getting cold, there is another cup of hot tea waiting for him.
The article analyzes that if the first teacup means his first two five-year terms from 2012 to 2022, then the second teacup means that he will continue to serve as the top leader of the Communist Party of China after the Party Congress in 2022 – another five years? Or a de facto lifetime in power?
During the current session, the two teacups first appeared at the opening session of the fourth session of the 13th National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) on the 4th, and then, as it were, in all the other rooms where Xi Jinping attended.
Nikkei also observed that not only was the number of teacups one more, but Xi’s cup appeared to have been designed specifically for him, unlike the cups provided for other CCP officials.
The article also analyzes that, in any case, Xi’s special treatment confirms what everyone knows, that the so-called “collective leadership system” of the CCP has actually collapsed, and that Xi is demonstrating his “one-man” status at every turn.
There is also speculation that Xi’s second teacup may be related to security measures, perhaps as part of a measure to prevent coronary (the CCP virus).
The article concludes, however, that it is bizarre that at the closing ceremony of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) on Wednesday, Xi’s teacup in front of him became one again, is this an internal boycott of such a bold reality of his power?
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