You can walk all over Shenzhen and not see any posters or pictures of Secretary Xi. None, as in none. However, if you walk enough, you will, in the middle of the city, come across a giant outdoor painting of Deng. Deng is in essence the patron saint of Shenzhen. The Party doesn't have to order anyone in Shenzhen to revere Deng. They do so because they know he was responsible for the fabulous growth and wealth of Shenzhen, which he did by opening the door to capitalism in the city. As for Secretary Xi? Well, as they say, "The mountains are high and the emperor is far away."
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Deng's reforms will reach fruition on June 1, 20, 2021, so Xi's program will replace Deng's. Xi's image is being used to attract non-policy wonks. Here's what the reforms will look like, in Xi's words:
“By 2035 our economic and technological strength will have increased significantly [it will be three times bigger than America’s] and China will a global innovation leader; people’s rights to participate and to develop as equals will be adequately protected; rule of law for the country, the government and society will be basically in place; all institutions will be improved and modern governance achieved; social etiquette and civility will be significantly enhanced; our cultural soft power will have grown much stronger and our culture will have greater appeal; people will be leading more comfortable lives and the middle-class will have grown considerably; disparities in urban-rural and regional living standards will be significantly reduced; equitable access to basic public services will be ensured and solid progress made toward universal prosperity; a modern social governance system will take shape and society will be full of vitality, harmonious and orderly; there will be a fundamental improvement in the environment so that the goal of building a Beautiful China has basically been attained”.
The predecessors of Mr.Xi are the leaders who converted the communism into a laboratory scale, pilot projects and then into the way of life. Mr.Xi is the person who as a chemical engineer by profession has the innate talent to observe, learn and discern the positive and negative parts of the strong economy of US a step above China and the closely
competing its neighbour India to keep his country in order.
Mr.Xi has been given the greatest responsibility as the China's leader of life time but his struggle to preserve the fort of communism from the lightning of the democratic fervor of the generation X and Y is indeed an arduous task ahead.
The unquestionable leader, Mr.Xi is in search of a right preservative to keep his position internally and a promoter to establish China's power externally.
Number of kudos to Mr.Xi in future depends on his eye to eye contact with world leaders and quid pro quo in external relations. In my opinion,Mr.Xi is more reasonable and pragmatic in philosophy and practice than his predecessors till date but any tilt from the current is a wait and watch game.
The important question is not what China will do to the world, but rather what China will become under Xi. Xi’s vision on how China should be governed is regressive, and too many people in China are sycophantic and eager to please the powers above for their own gains. This does not bode well for China’s future.
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Deng Xiaoping restructured the economy and the party, the latter by insisting against ‘one man rule,’ not a popular theme in Xi Jinping’s perceptions of leadership these days. Not surprising Xi might wish to rewrite the public’s understanding of Deng’s history and his message of not being obtrusive as a person or as a country.
Several misconceptions unfortunately in the article itself. One “the country’s new era of capitalist prosperity” carries the common desire to see China’s economic success as Capitalistic and never as an example of “a socialist market economy with Chinese characteristics” as the Chinese view and describe it. There is a marked difference as any successful businessman would tell you; even Mr. Ma China’s richest entrepreneur.
And few journalist use the expression ‘Tiananmen Square massacre’ any longer, even the Times. No one died in TS on June 4th but unknown numbers did in battles with the PLA on the streets of Beijing; pavement stones and Molotov Cocktails against rifles. The protesters were saved by negotiations with the army, many latter arrested.
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*many* people died in TS on June 4.
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@Thomas
No one died at TS, on June 3-4, 1989, as armed soldiers closed in Liu Xiaobo, Xu Zhiyong and Pu Zhiqiang negotiated the safe passage of protesters who were still there. Unknown numbers of citizens died that night battling solders, armed with armor piercing bullets, with pavement stones and Molotov cocktails at barricades on the streets and that story needs telling, but the protesters were freed, many later jailed.
Liu was to win the Nobel Peace Prize while serving in prison for other actions, he died there of cancer 13, July, 2017.