Two new books challenge the sense of inevitable permanence of the Chinese party state HEAD TOPICS

Two new books challenge the sense of inevitable permanence of the Chinese party state

10/21/2022 5:49:00 AM

China After Mao The Rise of a Superpower and Never Turn Back China and the Forbidden History of the 1980s offer a look at the future of China' s Communist Party

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NPR

Two new books challenge the sense of inevitable permanence of the Chinese party state — China After Mao: The Rise of a Superpower and Never Turn Back: China and the Forbidden History of the 1980s. China After Mao: The Rise of a Superpower and Never Turn Back: China and the Forbidden History of the 1980s offer a look at the future of China's Communist Party. .The slim volume covers the 1970s to early 1990s, a spread of time during which ideas about economic and political reform gestated. Those half-formed ideas towards liberalization that were abruptly thrown out as the party closed flanks following the Tiananmen Massacre in 1989. Where Dikötter's book is a roadmap of how we got here, Gewirtz looks at the road not taken — and a tantalizing glimpse, perhaps, at the political possibilities that remain still. Gewirtz focuses much on the fascinating character of Zhao Ziyang, general secretary of the party during part of the tumultuous 1980s. Zhao and sympathetic officials argued successfully for China to accelerate international trade, to import — or outright steal — foreign ideas and technology, and to disassociate the party with the blemished legacy of Chairman Mao Zedong. Read more:
NPR » Photo of anti-China banner was taken in Los Angeles, not China China party congress offers look at future leaders Asian shares dragged lower by China, UK inflation on radar SPECIAL REPORT: Taiwan’s microchip dominance is ground zero in growing U.S.-China cold war

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My New Favorite Futbolista will introduce you to the World Cup’s most inspiring soccer players and the causes they champion. New episodes hosted by former Colombian striker Juan Pablo Ángel and LX News host Eric Alvarez will drop November 1 in English and Spanish. Read more >> Photo of anti-China banner was taken in Los Angeles, not ChinaA photo has been shared thousands of times in multiple Chinese social media posts alongside a claim it shows an anti-China banner hung in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou after a rare street protest in Beijing against President Xi Jinping. The claim circulated online during the Chinese Communist Party's 20th Congress, where delegates were expected to hand Xi a historic third term. The photo, however, has been shared in a false context. It actually shows a protest by an anti-China organisation during the Congress in the US city of Los Angeles. As far as I know is it crime to be anti- communist...So to whom that hurt ..just too bad Thanks for the Fact Check. hoaxeye Maybe they consider LA to be part of China? They think Taiwan is. China party congress offers look at future leadersXi Jinping is primed to receive a third five-year term as head of China's ruling Communist Party. What's unknown is who will join him for the next five years on the party’s leading bodies. Some question how much it matters given Xi’s steely hold on power. Emperor Xi Join the museum pieces. Wonder what’s next on his agenda as emperor? Asian shares dragged lower by China, UK inflation on radarAsian shares were mixed on Wednesday, with investors cautious on China amid the ongoing Party Congress, while European markets are set to extend the optimism on earnings ahead of British inflation readings. Inflation in China? China 2.8%, UK 10.1% SPECIAL REPORT: Taiwan’s microchip dominance is ground zero in growing U.S.-China cold warHSINCHU, Taiwan — Hulking white factory buildings tower over the plush vegetation lining the road that snakes through this city, a place long known as Taiwan’s “Silicon Valley,” but increasingly identified as ground zero in a widening new Cold War between the United States and China. Build back better China claims right to protect consulate as Britain decries assaultChina says its diplomatic missions abroad have the right to “take necessary measures” to maintain security after UK police opened an investigation into the assault of a Hong Kong protester. One question for NBC NEWS, If US embassy was hit by a similar attack. What will the US embassy do ? You don’t call intrusion into consulate property and violence against diplomats an assault, yet you call the efforts to stop the violence an assault? No wonder your Twin Towers were hit and left in ruins as it seems that you virtually welcomed terrorist attacks. Globally critical chip firm ASML jumps 6% after earnings; sees limited impact from U.S. China curbsASML reported third-quarter earnings that topped analyst expectations, bucking the trend of a slowdown seen by other semiconductor firms. Well, guess ol Nancy's trip to Asia helped out hubby's and potus stock portfolio AGAIN!! SpeakerPelosi. SenateGOP HouseGOP thefive China and the Forbidden History of the 1980s .Gettr alongside a similar claim.for greater state control.(. The slim volume covers the 1970s to early 1990s, a spread of time during which ideas about economic and political reform gestated. Those half-formed ideas towards liberalization that were abruptly thrown out as the party closed flanks following the Tiananmen Massacre in 1989. It actually shows an anti-China protest in Los Angeles. Where Dikötter's book is a roadmap of how we got here, Gewirtz looks at the road not taken — and a tantalizing glimpse, perhaps, at the political possibilities that remain still. He won plaudits in 2011 for defusing protests by residents of the fishing village of Wukan over land sales by local officials. Gewirtz focuses much on the fascinating character of Zhao Ziyang, general secretary of the party during part of the tumultuous 1980s. Below is a screenshot comparison of the photo in the false post (left) and the Google Street View imagery (right): A screenshot comparison of the photo in the misleading post (left) and the Google street view imagery (right). Zhao and sympathetic officials argued successfully for China to accelerate international trade, to import — or outright steal — foreign ideas and technology, and to disassociate the party with the blemished legacy of Chairman Mao Zedong. the near-term downside risks for shares remain high," said Shane Oliver, chief economist at AMP Capital. But the 1980s were not all smooth sailing towards greater market liberalization and political opening, as official Chinese history now casts it. The photo was posted by the Cantonia Independence Party, an organisation that advocates for independence in Cantonese-speaking regions in China. VICE PREMIER HU CHUNHUA Among possible newcomers, Vice Premier Hu Chunhua is considered one of those with the best chance. The decade brought numerous setbacks for the reformist camp, including a half-hearted and disastrous experiment with doing away with price controls that led to runaway inflation and ruinous state subsidies. Gewirtz brings to life the ferocious political maneuvering between reformist and Marxist ideologues battling it out over whose vision for what China should become would materialize." Below is a screenshot comparison of the photo in the false post (left) and the Twitter photo (right): A screenshot comparison of the photo in the misleading post (left) and the Twitter photo (right). Much of this back-and-forth history was intentionally obliterated as the party, under Deng Xiaoping's directive, wrested back total control over Chinese society in the aftermath of a violent takedown of student and worker protests in Beijing's Tiananmen Square in the summer of 1989. Hu Chunhua is known as a boy wonder who ranked first in China’s national university entrance examinations and became the youngest person to hold several official posts. The possibilities that party leaders framed a future China — one that inevitably would be more democratic, more market-driven, less insular — suddenly were winnowed back down to singular party rule. Lim also provided another photo of the banner taken from another angle." The U. Intriguingly, Gewirtz utilizes cast-off propaganda directives and internal meeting notes gathered from ragtag collections of loose papers he obtained from online auction sites and Beijing flea markets. These documents allow him to piece together this period of historical re-writing and censorship that would glorify Deng Xiaoping while relegating Zhao Ziyang to the margins.. SHANGHAI CHIEF LI QIANG Li Qiang has been party secretary of Shanghai, China’s largest city and financial hub, since 2017. In a sign of how far China has closed itself to independent inquiry, Gewirtz notes that even these archives and auctions have recently been purged of potentially politically sensitive material. Dikötter, whose three excellent previous books on the tragedies of Communist politics dubbed the People's Trilogy , is known for his grassroots telling of sweeping political changes in Chinese history. His newest book is more superficial in its source material, relying heavily on journalistic accounts over the years rather than archival research and oral histories. His reputation was dented by a lengthy lockdown of Shanghai earlier this year that confined 25 million people to their homes, disrupted the economy and prompted scattered public protests.34 yen overnight, before stabilising at 149. However, it remains a useful summary fusing together a wildly diverse set of decades of China under Communist rule, emphasizing just how the party has mutated in form and function. This extraordinary adaptability to meet the perceived challenges of the day is the most novel argument presented in both books. Once resolutely socialist, the party has overseen a surge in the issuing local debt, using the stock market to fund hugely bloated state firms, and created one of the largest property markets in the world — each solving a critical short-term problem while also engendering larger issues down the road. Chen has never held a national-level position but is seen as a capable leader who made Chongqing’s government more responsive and efficient after a turbulent period under the now-imprisoned Bo Xilai, who was a Xi rival. The party now faces a new raft of challenges, including hostile relations with the United States which has sanctioned some of China's once most-promising technology giants. Will the party survive another round? China's economy remains self-hobbled by unwavering Covid controls, its technology firms bound by dramatic American export restrictions, its officials sanctioned over the country's possible crimes against humanity in the Xinjiang region, and its diplomatic clout has been marred by a nasty dose of nationalism and a refusal to condemn Russia's war in Ukraine. The UK, which has been roiled by a historic crisis in the government bond market, will report inflation readings for September later in the day, with annual inflation likely running at a double-digit rate of 10% last month. Precedent suggests the party will prevail, once again — though the odds look increasingly stacked against its favor as it holds its party congress. Concludes Dikötter at the end of China After Mao: "The challenge lying ahead for the Communist Party was how to address an entire range of longstanding structural issues of its own making without giving up its monopoly over power and its control over the means of production. It seemed very much like a dead end." Emily Feng is NPR's Beijing correspondent. Facebook . A surprising strong inflation report from New Zealand on Tuesday prompted markets to sharply revise up the expected tightening pace for the Reserve Bank of New Zealand.