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1. Silver+(OP)[view] [source] 2025-12-06 20:46:24
Was Xi himself a participant in the atrocities of the Cultural revolution? He would have been 23 when it ended.
replies(1): >>testde+r
2. testde+r[view] [source] 2025-12-06 20:50:38
>>Silver+(OP)
Xi was a victim of the cultural revolution. His father was paraded as an enemy of the revolution, his mother was forced to denounce his father and his sister killed herself. Xi was sent to a rural village where he dug ditches and lived in a cave.

Makes his complete commitment to the Party that much more interesting. I think Chinese leaders see the path they took - always venerating Mao (unlike the Soviets who denounced Stalin) and taking brutal action against any who would challenge the party’s power (in Tiananmen, unlike Soviet parties) as vindicating the approach of trusting the Communist Party. They firmly believe that only the Communist Party can control China and make it strong. Any reform like what the Russians did would leave them weak, like Russia is.

Obviously we can’t read his mind, but I’d guess that he justifies the Cultural Revolution as the right thing because the Party cannot be questioned. If you question that it opens up a whole can of worms that leads to the weakening and destruction of the Party.

replies(2): >>layer8+qf >>Ferret+1k
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3. layer8+qf[view] [source] [discussion] 2025-12-06 23:07:22
>>testde+r
There is a podcast series about Xi’s rise that I can recommend: https://www.economist.com/audio/podcasts/the-prince
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4. Ferret+1k[view] [source] [discussion] 2025-12-06 23:48:57
>>testde+r
Well, everyone under a socialist authoritarian regime will find themselves a victim sooner or later.
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