Posted on 05/29/2020 5:24:48 AM PDT by C19fan
“If the Chinese military has the same mindset, things will not end well for them, They will go to battle with India feeling invincible and likely get bloodied very quickly. No one fights more fierce than people protecting their home.”
In the 1980’s China got its butt kicked by lowly little Vietnam. There was a tell-all book written by a woman who grew in the cultural revolution. Her book is titled “No Tears for Mao.” It is out of print but there is an interesting passage where her boyfriend, who was in the PLA comes back from the war with Vietnam a broken man because he saw so many soldiers die. They thought they were invincible. They weren’t
“Does he worry about being able to outsmart his Party rivals? Sure. All dictators have similar worries. People in that line of work look at it as the cost of doing business. Doesn’t prevent them from rolling the dice. What’s all that power for, if not to reach for greatness? Xi could have contented himself with being a mid-level bureaucrat, instead of vying for the top spot. No one would have noticed him and he could have coasted all the way through to retirement. Instead, he propelled himself into the arena, and conducted purges unprecedented since the Mao era. That’s not an accident. He cleaned house domestically and ramped up military procurement to get ready for one big push abroad. Xi is a man in a hurry, and he’s not getting any younger.”
I think the purges were at the behest of party hardliners and the military. They were afraid their iron-rice-bowl was about to be broken.
After Mao died the next three presidents of China, Deng Shaoping, Jaing Zahmin, and Hu Jintao (Excuse the spelling) were making China a freer place. That hasn’t happened. Xi has reversed 30 years of getting freer. I don’t think he will be remembered fondly by the Chinese people.
Excellent summary...
If Chinese rulers have a long game, it’s not apparent that success is an adjective associated with their vision. I think what we need to worry about is the tendency of some Chinese rulers to be degenerate gamblers, to do the equivalent of betting their entire stack of chips on a single number in a game of roulette. IMHO, Xi Jinping isn’t worried about staying in power - he’s worried about not making a big enough splash in the history books.
Nice!
While not “new”, it is in context with the release of the virus world wide, Xi’s power struggle, HK, and carriers off Taiwan. Just one more venture.
Thank you, I find your input edifying.
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