Xi Jinping's Cultural Revolution Complex

In September 1967, Xi Zhongxun was criticised at Northwest Agricultural University (Wikipedia).

[People News] Sixty years ago, Mao Zedong launched a Cultural Revolution that necessitated an expanded meeting of the Political Bureau, the issuance of the May 16 notice, and the establishment of a Cultural Revolution group. Lin Biao famously stated, "Chairman Mao's words are all truths; one sentence surpasses our ten thousand sentences."

In the Xi Jinping era, the Cultural Revolution movement adopts an extreme minimalist approach, being straightforward and practical; a simple phone call to report someone on the street can label you as a class enemy. A video on platform X illustrates this, showing an ordinary car owner who, merely for displaying a small American flag in their vehicle, was slandered by a veteran as an 'American spy' and threatened with reporting. This situation is both absurdly laughable and profoundly terrifying.

This reflects Xi Jinping's Cultural Revolution complex in contemporary society, where the labelling of 'enemies' is simplified, popularised, and rendered foolish, governing the nation through a philosophy of mass mobilisation struggle.

Everyone is tasked with identifying spies; anyone can be considered a spy. Simply hanging an American flag makes you a spy, while taking photographs of buildings on the street can be seen as leaking state secrets, and driving a Tesla is viewed as having serious American spy tendencies. This Cultural Revolution-style paranoid fear is experiencing a full revival. Meanwhile, the authorities are vocally promoting a 'constructive strategic stable relationship' with the United States, with American flags prominently displayed in front of the Great Hall of the People and Tiananmen Square, creating a glaring symptom of great power division.

Xi Jinping was just 13 years old when the Cultural Revolution began. His father, Xi Zhongxun, an old revolutionary, faced brutal criticism, causing the family to descend from a privileged class to the status of 'gangster children.' During his youth, Xi Jinping was imprisoned, criticised, forced to wear a 'tall hat,' and sent to Liangjiahe to work in the countryside for seven years. These experiences should have led to a reflection on the absurdity of totalitarian violence; however, they instead fueled Xi Jinping's obsession with the red regime, his fascination with the energy of mass movements, and his veneration of the philosophy of struggle. Official propaganda romanticises his years in Liangjiahe as embodying a spirit of 'enduring hardship' and grassroots engagement, while intentionally overlooking the shared suffering of countless families during this catastrophe. Xi Jinping has visited Shaoshan numerous times, expressing that 'without Chairman Mao, there would be no today’s me,' which highlights his deep Cultural Revolution complex, while completely forgetting that he too was a victim of that era.

Xi Jinping's Cultural Revolution complex significantly influences his governing style. He promotes struggle, controls narratives, mobilises grassroots support, creates enemies, and consolidates his power. Since coming to power, Xi Jinping has removed negative depictions of the Cultural Revolution from elementary school textbooks and has sought to glorify it, all while fostering personal worship, advancing ideological indoctrination, and implementing movement-style governance, which exceeds even the mentality of the late Mao era.

Following the revision of the anti-espionage law by the Chinese Communist Party, a culture of nationwide mobilisation has emerged. The national security agency's reporting platform, 12339, is actively promoted, offering rewards for whistleblowers and encouraging citizens to be vigilant in identifying spies. Ordinary actions such as taking a photo, speaking a foreign language, or using a foreign brand can lead to individuals being reported by neighbours, the public, or the 'Aunties of Chaoyang'. The case of a car owner displaying an American flag exemplifies this mindset: symbols are treated as evidence, intent does not require proof, foreign connections are equated with treason, and there is no room for defence. Listening to Voice of America during the Cultural Revolution was seen as eavesdropping on the enemy; today, under Xi Jinping's harsher version of the Cultural Revolution, displaying the American flag is considered espionage.

This simplistic and labelling approach to identifying spies is widely applicable. From major cities to rural areas, and among all social classes, everyone is encouraged to participate. If this trend continues, simply recognising English letters could lead to suspicions of 'receiving foreign training', shopping at Sam's Club might be viewed as 'worshipping foreign products', and driving a Tesla has previously raised collective concerns about data being sent to the U.S. The scrutiny faced by Tesla owners a few years ago serves as a clear example of Xi Jinping guiding public movements.

What could the future hold if this trend continues? We might see checkpoints on the streets, with individuals wearing red armbands and hats enforcing strict compliance, requiring everyone passing by to shout 'Down with American imperialism! Down with all reactionaries!' to prove their loyalty; otherwise, they risk being labelled as 'thought spies'. Loyalty tests have evolved from the Cultural Revolution's practice of 'early reporting and late feedback' to today's random checks of mobile phones and ID cards in public spaces. Social media accounts on platforms like Weibo and Douyin can be suspended at any moment, leading to interrogations or summons for re-education. The national anti-espionage campaign has normalised mutual surveillance among neighbours and family reporting, rekindling conflicts between children and their parents.

Xi Jinping has consistently stressed the 'overall national security concept,' broadening the scope of anti-espionage from a state responsibility to a civic duty. The mass dictatorship reminiscent of the Cultural Revolution has resurfaced in a new guise, where everyone is a Red Guard and a warrior. Foreign investments have fled, foreigners have disappeared, the economy has collapsed, and social trust has eroded; yet, none of this seems to matter. The paramount concern is unwavering loyalty to the Party.

If reporting a 'U.S. spy' can easily yield 500,000 yuan, who would still choose to work long hours, deliver food, or drive for ride-hailing services? If we were to take to the streets to apprehend spies, wouldn’t that significantly boost incomes and simultaneously address employment issues? This would also strengthen the foundation of domestic demand, leading to a naturally flourishing economy. It appears that catching spies can also be viewed as a form of productivity and an economic strategy.

Ironically, while the lower classes are frantically pursuing 500,000 yuan, the upper echelons have already secured their wealth in the United States. Officials’ wives are immigrating to the U.S., their children are studying there, their savings are hidden in American banks, and they possess all the necessary documentation for U.S. visas. How can they not be considered American spies? Reports from Western media and intelligence sources reveal that the Xi Jinping family has extensive connections and assets in the U.S., with relatives holding significant overseas investments and real estate, and their family wealth is estimated to be in the billions or more.

If simply waving a small flag qualifies one as a spy, then when Xi Jinping welcomed Trump at the Great Hall of the People, with the American flag prominently displayed, and they shared a toast and a handshake, does that not make him the 'number one American spy'? While lower-class car owners are anxious about a flag, upper-class families view the U.S. as a haven for wealth and a safety net. This definition of espionage, which permits officials to act with impunity while restricting the common people, starkly reveals the hollow pretence of the CCP's patriotism.

In Xi Jinping's era, many have been alarmed to find that the legacy of the Cultural Revolution has not faded away; rather, it has been revived under the banner of a 'new era.' We are witnessing a resurgence of personal cults, the frightening intensification of loyalty tests, the manipulation of mass movements, and the exacerbation of conflicts between friends and foes. Under the slogan of common prosperity, wealth is increasingly concentrated at the top, while poverty continues to afflict the lower classes. Beneath the banner of national rejuvenation, there is a combination of internal repression and aggressive foreign posturing. The anti-espionage campaign represents a new iteration of Xi Jinping's Cultural Revolution, where Christmas celebrations, the philosophy of 'lying flat,' and economic pessimism are all labelled as 'infiltration by foreign forces.' Anti-American rhetoric serves as a convenient catch-all for any dissent.

Numerous absurd incidents keep surfacing. Teachers have been reported for discussing Western democracy in class, businessmen have faced scrutiny for collaborating with foreign enterprises, and ordinary citizens have been summoned for accessing foreign information through VPNs. Social media algorithms promote patriotic content, creating an echo chamber effect. The education system has intensified ideological training, instilling a sense of enemy awareness from a young age. Today's short social media videos have taken the place of the big-character posters from the Cultural Revolution, while big data analytics and internet censorship quietly suppress the social mobilisation reminiscent of that era.

A climate of fear prevails, and the culture of informing on others has become widespread. This trend is linked to the zero-COVID policy, real estate controls, and platform regulations. Xi Jinping addresses social issues through political movements, uses the fear of corruption to unify party and military loyalty, and fabricates external threats to obscure internal conflicts. The Cultural Revolution destroyed a decade, and the current injustices threaten to obliterate the future.

As we mark the sixtieth anniversary of the Cultural Revolution, its scars have not been buried; instead, they have been reignited and have spread under Xi Jinping's governance.

(First published by the People News) △