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Xi Jinping expels party members as dissent grows in Chinese Communist Party

WION
New DelhiEdited By: Palki SharmaUpdated: Aug 19, 2020, 07:07 AM IST
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File Photo of Chinese President Xi Jinping Photograph:(Reuters)

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China's Communist Party has turned against Cia Xia who was a loyal member and worked in the elite central party school.

Dissent against Xi Jinping in China's Communist Party has been rising with voices of opposition growing louder.

The party has turned against Cai Xia who was a loyal member of the Communist Party and worked in China’s elite central party school.

She was expelled on Monday for criticising Xi Jinping. She had given an interview to The Guardian in June revealing widespread opposition against Xi Jinping within the party and how the Chinese president has made China the enemy of the world.

It was a scathing account from an insider. Cai Xia doesn’t mince words, she asserted that Xi Jinping has singlehandedly “killed a party and a country”.

On the question of the removal of presidential term limits in 2018, Cai Xia said the Communist Party has become a political zombie with no ability to correct the errors.

When she was asked why would Xi Jinping make China an enemy of the world, Cai Xia said it is about Xi Jinping himself. She listed several factors to back her argument. First, it was an effort by Xi Jinping to consolidate his own position and authority. Second, it’s a way to divert attention from domestic issues and then she mentioned China’s border standoff with India, also China's battles with America.

Cai Xia also held Xi Jinping responsible for the pandemic. She claims that even after receiving the information the Chinese president did not raise an alarm nor did he make the information public or mobilise resources.

Cai Xia added that China's Communist Party is not silent, stating that there is opposition against Xi Jinping but it remains below the radar for two reasons - the anti-corruption crackdown, that is those who are corrupt will not question the president and those who are clean fear that they will be implicated under false charges.

Xi Jinping’s anti-corruption campaign has become a machine to target rivals. However, the reason why they remain silent is due to the disciplinary code of the Communist Party which was adopted under Xi Jinping. It has a rule which states that no member can “distort” the policies of the party. Cai Xia says if a member has a different opinion it will be considered a violation of party discipline.

Cai Xia expressed her opinion and was sacked from the party. She is not the only one to meet this fate. Two more party critics have faced retribution in recent times. Xu Zhangrun, a law professor who was dismissed from his post for criticising Xi Jinping. He was even detained for a few days and Ren Zhi Qiang who called Xi Jinping a clown. He was expelled from the Communist Party accused of corruption and put under investigation.

Three other senior members questioned the president and faced action in a matter of weeks. Xi Jinping has been ruthlessly crushing dissent but he cannot hide the fact that he has been facing opposition.