Xi Jinping has removed a major rival from China’s leadership and cemented his grip on China on the final day of a Communist Party conference when former President Hu Jintao was unexpectedly removed from the main stage. Hu’s resignation was a rare moment of unscripted drama in the usually carefully choreographed political drama.
The closing ceremony of the 20th Congress of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) capped off a triumphant weekend for Xi, who has become China’s most powerful ruler since Mao Zedong. He wiped out the last norms of the political order built after Mao’s death to prevent a return to the worst excesses of rule by a single dictator.
It was revealed on Saturday that President Xi has removed Premier Li Keqiang and Wang Yang reformers from office. It was to cram supporters into the Politburo Standing Committee, the heart of government that has ruled collectively for decades. After years of speculation, on Sunday, Xi will formally announce his third term as head of the Communist Party of China, or China’s leader. He will enter his third term as president early next year.
The week-long conference was planned with precision and paranoia, and President Xi stressed party unity throughout. But the Chinese Communist Party’s desire to control its public image made Hu’s sudden and apparently reluctant resignation in front of the world’s media especially surprising.
As aides and officials approached, whispered in his ear, and tried to lift him from his seat, the 79-year-old seemed confused and hesitant to leave the stage at the Great Hall of the People. At one point, Hu tried to pick up Xi’s note on the table between them. Xi held out his hand to hold the papers. Hu was then escorted off the stage, prompting speculation as to whether his departure was due to health problems or a power politics played out on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party and international audiences.
Whatever the reason, it had symbolic weight. Another living former leader, Jiang Zemin, now 96, did not attend the convention.
Xi has used the rally to cement his position within the Chinese Communist Party and strengthen his personality cult by making his writings the “core” of modern party ideology. After Hu was escorted out, Xi stood out on stage because he is now involved in Chinese politics. The most important meeting of his five-year political cycle in China, the conference will bring together his 2,400 delegates from across the country for rubber-stamped decisions by the party’s elite.
Under the old norm, President Xi would have stepped down as leader this week after a decade of leadership. Instead, he’s abolished term limits for the presidency and is stuffing his government with allies, potentially making him a leader for life.
Analysts say the remaining senior officials who oppose Xi are unlikely to run the risk of opposing him now. In several of his speeches, the president said China must navigate an increasingly hostile world.In his closing remarks, Xi told his delegation: Be determined to keep moving forward. ”
His vision of China suggests an increase in domestic repression, an increase in state intervention in the economy.
With the Chinese Communist Party’s constitutional amendments approved on Saturday, Xi’s book “Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era” states that Xi himself is the “heart” of the party and that the party’s It is the basis of ideology.
The list of 205 delegates appointed to the Central Committee shows that some of Xi Jinping’s oldest rivals – who had ties to other factions within the party and had their own power bases – have retired. He also revealed that he was forced to do so.
The 25 Politburo members and their all-powerful Standing Committee are drawn from the members of the Central Committee. An official cannot join a powerful ruling party organization without being on the Central Committee. Those missing included Premier Li Keqiang and Wang Yang, who heads the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference. Li was expected to step down as prime minister next March, but there is speculation that he will remain in the leadership of the Communist Party of China in a less prominent position.
A reformist politician with a relatively liberal image and extensive experience in the region, Wang was previously seen by analysts as a strong candidate to be the next prime minister.
Willie Lam, a senior fellow at the Jamestown Foundation, a Washington-based think tank, said: “If the Central Committee, the Politburo and the Standing Committee were all controlled by Mr. Xi, checks and balances would be severely disrupted. will be,” he said. “Xi Jinping’s policy of prioritizing ideology and national security over economic development will continue for 10 years from the next five years.” for he aspires to rule until
Other constitutional amendments have significantly strengthened China’s stance on Taiwan. The Chinese Communist Party’s charter previously listed Taiwan alongside Hong Kong and Macau as a place it hoped to “build solidarity” with. . “This suggests that the Chinese government is uncompromising and down to earth on the Taiwan issue,” said Wendi Song, a political scientist at the Australian National University.
