Quo Vadis China

“There is no force that can shake the foundation of this great nation... No force will be able to stop the steady march of the Chinese people and Chinese nation.” This was the message of Xi Jinping as he opened the celebrations marking the 70th year  of communist rule. 

This was the same message that was articulated by Martin Jacques in his book “When China Rules the World”. He writes that China will”...rapidly reassume its traditional place at the center of East Asia, the old tributary system will resurface in a modern form, contemporary ideas of racial hierarchy will be redrawn and China’s ages old sense of superiority will reassert itself.” 

One disquieting report is that on the eve of the festivities, Xi  Jinping bowed three times before a statue of Mao Zedong. I had thought that after Deng Xiaoping turned his back on Maoism, there would never be a resurrection of Maoism. I now expect that history will begin to be revised and Mao will again be hailed as a hero.

In many ways, this may seem like a surprising development. The modern Chinese economy has supposedly left behind the Maoist-Marxist-Leninist ideology. Several China observers   have noted that Xi Jinping sees himself as walking in the footsteps of Mao. Some have even gone further and theorized that he may be seeing himself as the modern Chinese Emperor. 

Anna Fitfield writes: “To stamp out dissent , the [Communist] party has cracked down on lawyers, human rights activists, and other members of civil society...It has overseen a sweeping campaign to forcibly assimilate ethnic minorities, detaining about 1 million Uighurs in re-education camps in Xinjiang. Xi has steered an anti-corruption campaign so extensive that it has led to the arrest of more than 1.5 million people.” 

Professor Klaus Muhlhahn of the Free University of Berlin also wrote: “The history of the People’s Republic of China is one of aspiration, destruction, ambition, confidence and anxiety...I think a lot of Chinese policy is driven by fear. The fear of losing power, of a development similar to what happened in the Soviet Union, shapes much of the policy and thinking.”

China is confronted with serious domestic disturbances. The Muslim Uighur population in Xinjiang and the ethnic Tibetan population have refused to voluntarily assimilate. They have continued to maintain their ethnic and religious identity. China’s solution is to force these ethnic and religious minorities to imbibe Chinese culture by force. Uighurs have been forced to go to “re-education camps” to learn Mandarin and Chinese customs. History, however, has shown that ethnic and religious persecution simply strengthen religious faith and ethnic identities. 

Another major domestic problem is the intransigence of the peoples of Hong Kong and Taiwan. The pro-democracy demonstrations in Hong Kong for the past four months have been major setback for China’s image. There is no question that China has witnessed an economic miracle.  But now one begins to wonder that if China was such an economic powerhouse, why do the people of Hong Kong so strongly refuse to become part of China? Theoretically, HongKong should be looking forward to benefitting from union with the economic giant which is  China. 

Relations between China and Taiwan have also plunged to a historic low since the Democratic Progressive Party’s Tsai Ing, is seen as favoring independence for the self governing island. Taiwan has its own youth led “Sunflower Movement” that consider themselves as Taiwanese and not Chinese. The movement is also pushing for independence. 

Chinese anxieties have also been intensified  by a worrying economic slowdown which has also been compounded by the fears of a global recession, an aggressive American trade war and a hardening and increasing disenchantment with Chinese loans and the Belt and Road Initiative.

It would seem that Xi Jinping’s revival of Mao Zedong is part of a campaign to build a personal cult of personality around his one-man rule.  He has added his name to the country’s constitution and dissolved term limits which originally limited presidential terms to ten years. All his actions are typical methods by dictators.

In his book How to be a Dictator: The Cult of Personality in the Twentieth Century the author Frank Dikotter studied eight dictators – Mao, Mussolini, Hitler, Stalin, Kim Il Sung, Duvalier, Ceausescu of Romania and Ameriam of Ethiopia. The book concentrated on a feature common to all of them – the cult of personality.

When Mao Zedong passed away in 1976, Deng Xiaoping took over. He became the architect of modern China by introducing economic reforms and socialist modernization. Deng also pursued an enlightened foreign policy and dismantled the Mao personality cult. In 1992 he voluntarily stepped down as president. Many have wondered if a Deng Xiaoping was president whether we will have a different China. 

Additional information on the following finalists for the National Book Awards:  

Published by Bughaw, Ateneo de Manila University Press Imprint:

The Betrayed: A Novel  by Reine Arcache Melvin 

Heroes, Villains, and Other Women by Kate Osias 

The First Five: A New Collection of Southeast Asian Writing by Chan Wai Han (editor)  

Interpreting Rizal  by Caroline S. Hau

Rock Solid: How the Philippines Won Its Maritime Case against China by Marites Dañguilan Vitug

 Researching Philippine Realities: A Guide to Qualitative, Quantitative, and Humanities Research by Jose Eos Trinidad, Bluebooks (Ateneo de Manila University Press Imprint)

Stay: 21 Comic Stories by Angelo R. Lacuesta (writer), John Amor, Andoyman, Kajo Baldisimo, Dominic Bekaert, Fritz Casas, Chocnut-san, Ace Continuado, Igan D’Bayan, Jim Jimenez, Rommel Joson, Ydunn Lopez, Shaira Luna, Roy Allan Martinez, Gilbert Monsanto, Noel Pascual, Randy Valiente, and Ara Villena (artists),  Good Intentions Books, Inc.

Pukiusap  by  Liv Strömquist (illustrator) and Beverly Siy (translator), Anvil Publishing, Inc

Creative writing classes for kids and teens

Young Writers’ Hangout on October 5 & 19 (1:30 pm-3pm; stand-alone session) at Fully Booked BGC.   For details and registration,  email [email protected].

* * *

Email: [email protected]