The Culture Of Political Intolerance That XI Has Created In China

The political culture of secrecy borne out of fear to share personal views fully evinces the alarming suppression of the human right of freedom of speech of the individuals, one of the core tenets of the World’s organization, United Nations (UN). Many dissidents have been sacked from their jobs, to say the least.

Under the Xi government, Chinese officials have purged political opposition; bloggers, activists, and lawyers have been unjustly prosecuted; stringent controls have been imposed to censor not only media but universities, businesses, and non-governmental organizations; citizens and corporations have been targeted with surveillance; and people perceived as dissidents have been subjected to arbitrary detention, torture, and abuse.

The intolerable nature of Xi is by far exhibited in his government. The members of the government even dare not add voice to their dissensions. Decision making in Xi’s government lacks that quality due to a lack of quality arguments emanating from different perspectives. By far decision making does not portray collectivity.

Very recently, South China Modern Post reported that Lou Jiwei, a former Chinese finance minister who is well known and highly respected among financiers and economic policymakers was replaced as chairman of the country’s National Social Security Fund.

Even though the Chinese government assigned no reason for this action, it is no secret that Lou has been branded as one of the very few government officials who are able to criticize Xi’s obnoxious policies.

He has recently emerged as an outspoken critic of China’s ambitious industrial policy agenda, “Made in China 2025”, calling it “a waste of public money”. Therefore, his sacking has come as no surprise at all.

This is just one of many of Xi’s actions that reflect a profound change, under him, in the way Chinese leaders govern: from a collective decision-making process in which disagreements and debate were allowed, to a centralized leadership style in which loyalty and conformity are prized.

This curtailing of freedom of speech by CCP sharply contrast the system in the US where the chief of defense staff can go against his own president to give the opposition solid grounds to press for an impeachment process to be initiated against H.E. Trump.

Opposition makes quality input in decision making. And structures are in place not to curtail the rights of the individuals as much as possible.

The 2019 US annual report on Human Rights indicated “China is being ruled by a brutal, authoritarian regime, a communist regime” and compared Xi Jinping’s China to Nazi Germany and Stalinist Soviet Union.

Even though the CCP passionately take exceptions to been branded as autocrats and calls China's system a "socialist consultative democracy" system which guarantees “widespread and effective participation in politics through consultations carried out by political parties, peoples congresses, government departments, peoples organizations, communities, and social organizations", it must be stated, unequivocally, that theCCP preaches all this just in principle but far-fetched in practice.

For several decades, nations like the US have thought the regime would become more like them through trade, scientific exchanges, diplomatic outreach, but the situation has worsened. In the words of Mike Pompeo, US secretary of States “We greatly underestimated the degree to which Beijing is ideologically and politically hostile to free nations.

The whole world is waking up to that fact”, there seems to be a strong call by the world’s superpower for all nations to add their voices to denounce China’s violations more crucial at the time that Xi has removed the presidential term limits to entrench himself in power indefinitely.