The Chinese Communist Party turns 100: how the world’s most powerful political party began
The CCP’s rule is the third longest of any political party in history
Don’t try to “bully” China, or you’ll get a bloody nose. That was the Chinese president Xi Jinping’s warning to the world on the centenary of the founding of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), said William Yang in The Independent. Xi told a flag-waving crowd that anyone who tries to “oppress” China will “have their heads bashed bloody against a Great Wall of steel”.
The celebrations included a “dazzling” re-enactment of the CCP’s “early struggles” and its “recent achievements”. They glossed over the grim era between 1950 and 1970, when Chairman Mao Zedong’s policies killed millions and pushed China into “extreme poverty”.
Yet Xi seems increasingly to be a leader in Mao’s mould: in office since 2012, he has abolished the two-term limit on the presidency and tightened ideological control, using technology to monitor citizens. A government unit pushes a party-approved version of history, with contrary views demonised as “historical nihilism”. State media fosters a Mao-style personality cult around “Xi Dada” or “big daddy”, said Ian Williams in The Spectator. His approach, though, owes more to “strident ethnic nationalism” than communism.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Under Xi, China adopts two rather different tones abroad, said Charles Moore in The Daily Telegraph. Claiming to pursue “dialogue” and harmony, it has infiltrated “hundreds of Western universities, businesses and other institutions”. The tone changes abruptly, though, if anyone raises questions about its theft of intellectual property; its treaty-breaking assault on the liberties of Hong Kong; or its “Belt and Road Initiative” – a “massive imperial project” giving it control of transport routes and natural resources around the world. Then, with angry threats and boycotts, the CCP’s true face is revealed: of a totalitarian regime bent on global domination.
The West has misread the CCP for 50 years, said Matthew Syed in The Sunday Times. Ever since Henry Kissinger and Richard Nixon first engaged with it, the “fantasy” was that if we traded with communist China and gave it a seat on the UN Security Council, it would “absorb our values”. It didn’t, as its rising militarism and “genocide” against the Muslim Uighur minority show.
China now feels strong enough to challenge the US economically, “and maybe even prevail”, said The Times. “But Party control will always be a brake.” A society without freedom of speech “cannot count on innovation”. A nation without internal criticism cannot correct mistakes or fight corruption. “China may be hailing the Party as the institution that has made it great.” But the CCP faces an uncertain future.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
India elections start amid violence, hate speech accusations
Talking Points Narendra Modi seeks a third term while critics worry about the future of the country's democracy
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
'Biden is smart to keep the border-security pressure on'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
Bird flu worries mount as virus found in milk, cows
Speed Read The FDA found traces of the virus in pasteurized grocery store milk
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Puffed rice and yoga: inside the collapsed tunnel where Indian workers await rescue
Speed Read Workers trapped in collapsed tunnel are suffering from dysentery and anxiety over their rescue
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Gaza hospital blast: What the video evidence shows about who's to blame
Speed Read Nobody wants to take responsibility for the deadly explosion in the courtyard of Gaza's al-Ahli Hospital. Roll the tape.
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Giraffe poo seized after woman wanted to use it to make a necklace
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Helicopter sound arouses crocodiles
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Woman sues Disney over 'injurious wedgie'
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Emotional support alligator turned away from baseball stadium
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Europe's oldest shoes found in Spanish caves
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Artworks stolen by Nazis returned to heirs of cabaret performer
It wasn't all bad Good news stories from the past seven days
By The Week Staff Published