By rooting out his opponents through merciless "anti-corruption" campaigns and supressing all forms of criticism, Chinese leader Xi Jinping now seems to be untouchable. Thousands of delegates are set to rubber-stamp his bid to rule for a historic third term as they meet for the five-yearly Congress. But between the lines, instances of dissent are visible.
Chinese President Xi Jinping doubled down on his policies at the opening of the Communist Party Congress on Sunday, pledging continuity on cornerstones of his decade in power as he seeks to secure a historic third term.
Since coming to office, Xi has transformed China by personalising and centralising power, cracking down on corruption and dissent, pushing a more assertive foreign policy and promoting domestic self-reliance in technology and the economy.
If picked as party leader for another five-year term as expected, Xi is almost certain to be elected president at the annual meeting of China's National People's Congress in March.
Xi and the party's other top brass are likely to be unveiled on 23 October, the day after the Congress closes.
With his tenure for life, Xi radically altered China's course set by Deng Xiaoping and his Open Door policy in 1978.
Deng, who suffered miserably under the one-man dictatorship of Mao Zedong, shifted the CCP's focus from the hyper-communist "class struggle" to "economic construction" which in practice meant that the Communist party started to rapidly lift control over things like private ownership, stock markets and foreign investment.
Deng's limits were tested with the 1979 Democracy Wall and the 1989 Tiananmen people's movement, which he cracked down on, showing that no one could attack the supremacy of the Communist party.
Still Chinese citizens were much freer than they ever had been under Mao Zedong, whose policies included devastating campaigns like the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution.
What Deng did succeed in was to radically cut out the notion of "personality cult".He stressed "collective leadership" when he stepped down from all top functions (apart from the one of Chairman of the Central Military Commission) and designed a politburo standing committee consisting of people who had an equal amount of power.
After Deng's death, Jiang Zemin became China's supreme leader, but only in name: he shared power with his Prime Minister (Zhu Rongji) and the politburo.
China's leadership became more collective under Hu Jintao, who took over at the 18th party congress in 2002, and ruled rather consistently supported by his Prime Minister, Wen Jiabao, while not succumbing to the temptations of becoming a dictator.
Xi Jinping changed all that when he forced the central committee to change the constitution opening the road for him to become dictator-for-life.
No criticism is tolerated and the party congress is designed to be a "show of unity" among party ranks, but small details show that the old guard is far from happy with Xi's current attempts to equal Mao Zedong's status of China's "Great Helmsman."
Close observation of members of the old guard indicate that they are not happy. Among the "Presidium" of the party congress are former Party Secretaries Jiang Zemin and Hu Jintao, former Prime Ministers Zhu Rongji and Wen Jiabao, and other heavyweights such as former politburo member Li Ruihuan and the oldest: the 105-year old party stalwart Song Ping.
In footage of the congress, Li Ruihuan seemed to be the only one not applauding Xi Jinping but merely nodding his head - which may be explained as a slight rebuke to the paramount leader.
2,300 people applauding Xi as if their futures depended on it and Li Ruihuan just gives him a sup nod https://t.co/FRhBnXAvTh
— Austin Ramzy (@austinramzy) October 16, 2022
Some of the others look clearly unhappy, but it is impossible to say if they are upset about Xi's speech of if they feel generally uncomfortable.
After all, they are in their late eighties or mid-nineties and have to sit through hours of endless speeches before they can relax.
1986 vs. Today
— China in Pictures (@tongbingxue) October 16, 2022
Former Chinese President Hu Jintao.#20thCPCNationalCongress pic.twitter.com/3bywDBXUdE
For the moment, an unhappy expression may be the only way to express disagreement for the ageing party members. Starting from 2015, Xi started to curtail the retirees, starting with a remark in the official People's Daily saying that “once people leave, the tea cools down” while urging them to “adjust their mentality” to backstage status.
Xi managed to break through a tradition that had an informal council of elder party members - so-called "immortals" - to pull the strings behind the scenes. This was the case in Deng's time, when he had to compromise between different factions representing different political preferences, ranging from reformists to conservatives.
Rare sign of protest
Meanwhile, the Chinese population itself had been under increasingly tight control. A vast army of cyber police is monitoring the slighest form of dissent, imposing "bans for life" on social media accounts if people are found guilty.
Lockdowns of entire cities under the pretext of Covid-19 may have contributed to a complete abence of any form of political protest.
The only overt sign of protest seems to have been organised by one single person who unfurled a large banner over the Sitong overpass in Beijing's northern Haidian district, reading "We want food, not PCR tests. We want freedom, not lockdowns. We want respect, not lies. We want reform, not a Cultural Revolution. We want a vote, not a leader. We want to be citizens, not slaves.”
The man was quickly apprehended, the banner removed, but it was shared by millions on China's social media before the cyber police could remove the references.
