There’s a lot to be said for the mess of American politics. In November, the country will have to choose between re-electing a senile president or electing a former president who believes that the national interest and its mirror are the same thing. At the same time, Congress is torn apart by partisan posturing. However, freedom and the market of concepts still reign supreme. The same cannot be said for China.
Chinese Communist Party leader Xi Jinping and his spokesmen say others are proposing another kind of democracy. A democracy in which diverse leaders, all with absolute patriotic loyalty, propose different concepts that ensure a political process that produces the most productive results. They argue that other Chinese are capable of expressing their own concepts as long as they don’t cross the red line by defying Party decisions or questioning Xi’s wisdom. This is a lie that is demonstrated through the utter lack of trust that defines the party’s reaction to even satire or mild online protests. The lie of satisfied unity under Xi is further demonstrated through the costly leader’s crackdown on the most sensible government and military officials. The lie was also shown through a BBC News article on Monday.
Covering the National People’s Congress in Beijing, the BBC’s China correspondent Stephen McDonell asked arriving delegates whether they would prefer Joe Biden or Donald Trump to enter the Oval Office on the afternoon of January 20, 2025. Their answers were very revealing.
Of the delegates contacted through McDonnell, the most seemed afraid to even be seen talking to a foreign journalist. When asking questions in Mandarin, McDonnell encountered several attempts to dodge it. These included “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’ve got something,” anything else. he said, and “Let’s get back to you another time. ” After many failed attempts, one delegate smiled and said, “We can’t communicate. “Other delegates stopped, but later said they could not answer the query or referred McDonnell to the Foreign Office. . One said, “Oh, I have no idea about that. “
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Three delegates did offer more substance. One said that when it came to Biden or Trump, “as long as it’s good for both sides and world development, then it’s great.” Another stated, “For the China-U.S. relationship, we need negotiation for the development of world peace. Then it will work. Don’t stir up trouble.” And another offered hope that “We can strengthen economic and technological cooperation between China and the U.S.” But it’s notable that each of these responses closely replicates the Chinese executive’s talking points on U.S. relations. Those talking points call for international engagement, fewer American actions that “stir up trouble,” and the need for greater economic cooperation.
There’s a lesson about Communist China here. The fact that members of the legislative branch are either so unwilling to speak about a matter of such obvious political import or so determined to answer in absolute conformity with the executive’s narrative proves two things. First, in today’s China, true legislative scrutiny of the executive isn’t simply non-existent, it is actively dangerous. Second, as with his approach to the economy, Xi’s top-down leadership is wasting the individual talents of his people.