Xi is having his neighbors over for a BBQ. Showing off his kids. Which is great in a way, better regional stability for 3B+ people than the alternative.
Is he celebrating his administration? Are 1.4B Chinese happier than they were at the start of his administration? Well, they’re not in a hot war, there is no nationwide famine nor one on the horizon, no evidence of a civil war, no pandemic nor the initiation of one, continuous improvement of Quality of Life for most citizens (modulo looming real estate collapse)…so a big win by Chinese historical standards. At the expense of censorship, control and oppression unacceptable by Western (and perhaps global) standards, which his biggest neighbors don’t care about a bit themselves.
Doesn’t sound like this party is for “the West”, nor do they care what “the West” thinks…so it’s not really a “world stage” thing. If Mao is prominently positioned and this is a grand military parade, it sounds like a mid century retro themed celebration, appropriate for celebrating the 80th anniversary of the Chinese “defeat” of Japan. A sock hop for the CCP, with a dose of historical revisionism. But Xi’s big moment? Eh.
onecommentman•22h ago
Is he celebrating his administration? Are 1.4B Chinese happier than they were at the start of his administration? Well, they’re not in a hot war, there is no nationwide famine nor one on the horizon, no evidence of a civil war, no pandemic nor the initiation of one, continuous improvement of Quality of Life for most citizens (modulo looming real estate collapse)…so a big win by Chinese historical standards. At the expense of censorship, control and oppression unacceptable by Western (and perhaps global) standards, which his biggest neighbors don’t care about a bit themselves.
Doesn’t sound like this party is for “the West”, nor do they care what “the West” thinks…so it’s not really a “world stage” thing. If Mao is prominently positioned and this is a grand military parade, it sounds like a mid century retro themed celebration, appropriate for celebrating the 80th anniversary of the Chinese “defeat” of Japan. A sock hop for the CCP, with a dose of historical revisionism. But Xi’s big moment? Eh.