Xi JinPing and Winnie the Pooh

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hina is often known for its incredible growth in economy, its large manufacturing sectors and its pollution. But alongside overseeing a steadily climbing economy and attempting to deal with pollution, Xi Jinping has a few comparatively more personal issues to tackle. Xi Jinping seeks to eliminate the term limit and recently banned all online images of Winnie the Pooh with the nation-wide firewall.

Beijing does not take jokes—at all. In a country where censorship of dissident political ideas runs rampant, citizens have relied on their creativity to euphemize potentially triggering opinions with symbols of different kinds. Paranoid as they are about potential pro-democracy movements, the government goes to strange lengths to make sure that it is “well-respected” by the general population.

Any innocuous object could mean something else to those “in the know;” hence, when some smart Internet user spotted the eerie similarities between the facial expressions of the party’s leader and this yellow cuddly bear, government officials quickly caught on that Winnie the Pooh cartoons had become the new trend for those wishing to lampoon party policies. Certainly the tagline “Find the thing you love and never let go,” posted next to an image of the bear embracing a honey pot, did not go well. The government interpreted, probably correctly, that it was meant to ridicule Xi Jinping’s preparations to repeal the term limit for himself.

"The century ahead is a time of reckoning. When the dominion of democratic values fades on the global stage, what are the implications for individual freedom? Only time will tell."

In a political system where power stems from the legitimacy of one individual, maintaining a public image is of paramount importance. Disillusioned democracy-lovers aside, a significant portion of China’s population holds tremendous respect, almost reverence, for Xi Jinping, and the party certainly wants to keep it that way. This man has been called “the most powerful leader since Mao Zedong.”

Every successful authoritarian excels at convincing individuals to think for the group rather than for themselves, which is not a particularly difficult task in a country like China, where collectivism as a value has been lauded since the days of Confucius. Riding on a burgeoning sense of national and ethnic pride, President Xi ingeniously weaves his policies around proving China, not America nor any other country in the West, holds the key to development in the 21st century. The party leader coined the term “Chinese Dream,” an obvious counterpoint to the “American Dream,” which has lost much of its popularity in recent years. His political doctrine, popularly referred to as Communism with Chinese characteristics, has been incorporated into the Politburo’s Constitution.

It did not come as a surprise, therefore, when The National People’s Congress, China’s legislative body, declared after a 16-day meeting that Xi Jinping could effectively be president for life, with  2959 votes for, three abstains and two against. As is common in the Congress of Politburo-ruled states, the voting was merely stageplay, as Xi had successfully gotten rid of his rivals and monopolized power long in advance. Congress did as it was told. In one-party systems, intra-party rivalry oftentimes makes up somewhat for the lack of debate typical of multi-party governing bodies; however, this recent development could signify a new era in China in which power becomes more centralized than ever before, and one man gets to steer the Communist state in whichever way he pleases.

The irony here is that Karl Marx, Vladimir Lenin and probably even Mao Zedong would not be able to recognize their Communism in China today. Though still highly centralized, the country’s vibrant economy does not lack private markets and successful businessmen conducting trade with foreign investors. What sets Xi Jinping apart from practically any other dictator is his rationality and moderateness; though he has been compared to Mao, unlike his predecessor, Xi Jinping wants to position Communist China as a completely “normal” country, which any partner can reliably work with. He is assertive when need be in pushing for plans that, while centered around his country, are also beneficial for allies, in name at least. These include the Belt and Road Initiative and the establishment of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, the multilateral financial institution that has supported the construction of infrastructure across the Asia-Pacific, especially in developing countries.

What China possesses that the Soviet Union did not is economic prowess. Though many have dismissed its growth as a “hoax,” or a “paper tiger,” what we are seeing in truth is an economy that takes up 35.2 percent of global GDP growth. Champions of liberal democracies scout for evidence to prove that China’s model of centrally-planned economy will fail, but it looks like the opposite is happening; in fact, in other countries, most notably Singapore, market economies combined with a strong ruling party led by forward-thinking leaders have resulted in tremendous wealth. The century ahead is a time of reckoning. When the dominion of democratic values fades on the global stage, what are the implications for individual freedom? Only time will tell.