Forum: Powerful Words, Powerful People

ON 10 APRIL 2018, Xi Jinping gave a speech at the closing ceremony of the annual Boao Forum for Asia, China’s geopolitical forum for global elites. Having expressed his desire for China to work with other nations in addressing the world’s challenges, towards the end of his speech he noted: In the New Era, the Chinese people will continue to constantly strive to become stronger ziqiang buxi 自强不息

IS XI JINPING the new Chairman Mao? Now that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has eliminated the two-term limit for the leader of the People’s Republic of China, there’s nothing to stop Xi from serving as leader-for-life — despite official denials that he intends to do so. Like Mao Zedong, Xi has carefully crafted a narrative of his personal history to legitimise his power and policies. Both Mao and Xi built a story, or mythos, about their lives that positioned themselves as the representative of the nation as a whole, with their personal struggles being depicted as identical to those of China.