Hu Yaobang’s Son A Sore Spot For Xi Jinping
President Xi Jinping’s stance on political reform has divided China’s princeling community, according to Ching Cheong of Straits Times (via the Asia News Network (ANN)). A speech by Hu Dehua, son of the late reformer Hu Yaobang, centered on controversial issues including disagreement with Xi over China’s future based on historical lessons of the Soviet Union collapse. Xi concluded that the fall of the USSR shows that China must maintain party power while Hu argued that power belongs in the hands of the people. Ching claims that Hu’s speech is the “most severe criticism” of Xi since he became CCP general secretary:
He started with Xi’s speech to party colleagues during his southern tour early this year. In it, the President stated that the Soviet Union collapsed because the party had disarmed itself by allowing the army to be loyal to the country rather than the party. “One lesson to draw is that we should forever grasp firmly the gun and not to disarm ourselves,” the President said.
Xi also lamented that when the country faced disintegration, given the size of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU), there was no one “man enough” to come to its defence.
To refute him, Hu Dehua cited Russian Communist Party leader Gennady Zyuganov’s view that the Soviet Union collapsed because the CPSU had monopolised resources, political power and truth. “If this was the case, then there was nothing to regret if the Soviet Union or the CPSU collapsed,” he said.[Source]
Read more about China’s princelings via CDT.