Authoritarian Xi’s paranoia
On May 7, two former Chinese defense ministers and members of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) Central Military Commission (CMC) — Wei Fenghe (魏鳳和) and Li Shangfu (李尚福) — were sentenced to death with a two-year “reprieve.” The penalties were the heaviest imposed on chief Chinese People’s Liberation Army generals so far since Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) launched two waves of anti-corruption campaigns.
Wei and Li had previously been Xi’s confidants. Xi promoted Wei when he came to power in 2012. He even held a promotion ceremony for Wei, a rare honor. Granting a title in a tailored ceremony is like an emperor telling the world that “this is my man.”
In 2022, at the International Institute for Strategic Studies’ Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, Wei said that “if anyone dares to split Taiwan [from China], the Chinese military will be ready to fight,” which shook the international community at that time.
As Wei’s successor, Li also made threats on the Taiwan issue when attending the event the following year, as if the Chinese military was ready to turn against the world. Now, even Xi’s “wolf warrior confidants” are being sentenced to death. On the surface, the reason was corruption and bribery; in fact, Xi was simply unhappy with them, thinking that they might have a “change of heart.”
On May 2, French news outlet RFI published an article titled “Is Xi Jinping paranoid?” The article pointed out that the latest wave of military purges is so severe that even senior generals are being removed, one after another. Even General Zhang Youxia (張又俠), the CMC vice chairman and Xi’s closest confidant, is being investigated. What is behind these purges?
One assessment from a US intelligence agency is that Xi’s paranoia has reached an extreme level. Academics also believe that this is the “structural contradiction” of authoritarian politics.
With Xi treating his wolf warrior confidants like this, how does Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文), who only shook his hand once during their meeting last month, expect he would treat her? She has shown herself to be naive: She has overestimated herself, and knows little about the CCP’s power struggle culture.
Chumuyikung
Taipei
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