Xi Jinping bans grumbling inside the Communist Party
Party factions were annoying for China’s past rulers, but offered a safe outlet for dissent
To grasp the dire state of political debate in modern China, consider this: there are reformist speeches by Deng Xiaoping, the late paramount leader, that could easily be banned by censors today. A good example is Deng’s speech on the benefits of collective leadership of the Communist Party and Chinese state, delivered in August 1980 as he moved against veterans of the recently ended Mao era and replaced them with modernisers.
This article appeared in the China section of the print edition under the headline “Xi bans grumbling by party elders”
From the June 4th 2022 edition
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