After Deng Xiaoping started the Chinese economic reforms and introduced the concept of collective leadership in the late 1970s, there was no longer a cult of personality around Chinese leaders. Deng and others wanted to prevent another leader from rising above the party as Mao Zedong had done.[5] When Xi came to power in 2012, he started centralizing power and paved the way for a cult of personality.[6]
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has denied that there was any cult of personality. Xie Chuntao, director of the government-funded Central Party School's academic department, claimed the “respect and love” ordinary Chinese felt for Xi was “natural” and “heartfelt” and bore no similarities to a cult of personality. He added that memories of the excesses of Mao's cult were strong enough that the CCP would not allow another leader to form a cult around himself.[5][7]
Characteristics
Since Xi assumed power in 2012, books, cartoons, pop songs and dance routines have honoured his rule.[8] In 2017, the local government of Jiangxi province told Christians to replace their pictures of Jesus with Xi Jinping.[9][10][11]
Writing in the Sydney Morning Herald, Philip Wen notes that “perhaps the most stunning characteristic shared with Mao has been a growing personality cult around Xi fanned by the central propaganda department, which has produced some jarring results: newspaper front-pages dominated by Xi's every move, saccharine music videos professing love and loyalty to the leader.”[12] In May 2016, just prior to the 50th anniversary celebration of Mao's Cultural Revolution, a “Mao-themed revival show” at the Great Hall of the People featuring revolutionary “red songs” was designed to generate nostalgia for the Mao era, with “giant images of Mao and Xi projected on stage.”[12]
In March 2017, Xi claimed that he carried bags of 110 kilograms of wheat over 3 miles of mountain road without changing shoulder,[13] a feat deemed extraordinary[14] and broadcast by China Central Television during what was described as an image-crafting campaign.[14]
When he was re-elected in 2017, Xi dominated the front page of the People's Daily[a] compared to previous editions, which emphasized a “collective leadership” model.[15]
Since October 2017, many universities across China have placed Xi Jinping Thought at the core of their curricula, the first time since Mao Zedong that a Chinese leader has been accorded similar academic stature.[19]Fudan University revised their charter to remove "academic independence and freedom of thought" and include a "pledge to follow the Communist party's leadership", leading to protests among the students.[20][21] It also said that Fudan University had to “equip its teachers and employees” with Xi Jinping Thought, leading to concerns about the diminishing academic freedom of Fudan.[22][23]
In October 2018, Hunan TV started airing a game show about Xi Jinping and his ideology.[25] In January 2019, Alibaba released a mobile app for studying Xi Jinping Thought named Xuexi Qiangguo. (The name of the app is a pun on Xi Jinping's name. Xuéxí can mean "learning" or "learn from Xi.")[26][27] As of October 2019, it had more than 100 million active users,[28] and is now claimed to be the most downloaded item on Apple's domestic App Store, surpassing social media apps such as WeChat and TikTok (also known as Douyin in Mandarin).[29][30]
Apps such as Toutiao, Tencent, and Sina have been forced to use what has been described as "a super algorithm", where the story at the top "has to be about Xi".[31][32]
A portrait of Xi Jinping, taken from Qingfeng Steamed Dumpling Shop, Tangshan branch.
^"Students protest at Shanghai's Fudan University". Asia Times. 19 December 2019. Retrieved 19 December 2019. A video circulating this week showed students at Shanghai's Fudan University singing the school song – which extols "academic independence and freedom of thought" – in an apparent protest.{...}Besides removing "freedom of thought", the ministry adds to the charter "arming the minds of teachers and students with Xi Jinping's new era of socialist ideology with Chinese characteristics". It also obliges faculty and students to adhere to "core socialist values" and build a "harmonious" campus environment – a code phrase for the elimination of anti-government sentiment.
^Kuo, Mercy A. (7 December 2017). "China's Media Market Competition". thediplomat.com. Archived from the original on 4 December 2017. Retrieved 2 June 2020. The state also imposes what I call "a super algorithm" on these platforms – the story at the very top of every news website and news app has to be about Xi Jinping.
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