{"id":115991,"date":"2022-10-17T17:12:16","date_gmt":"2022-10-17T21:12:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kendallharmon.net\/?p=115991"},"modified":"2022-10-17T19:15:06","modified_gmt":"2022-10-17T23:15:06","slug":"wsj-xi-jinpings-quest-for-control-over-china-targets-even-old-friends","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kendallharmon.net\/?p=115991","title":{"rendered":"(WSJ) Xi Jinping\u2019s Quest for Control Over China Targets Even Old Friends"},"content":{"rendered":"

Xi Jinping\u00a0became China\u2019s most formidable leader in decades through a\u00a0campaign of anticorruption purges<\/a>\u00a0that sidelined opponents and\u00a0suppressed any potential challenge<\/a>, real or perceived, to his power.<\/p>\n

Some political watchers thought the purges would ease once he settled into his role.\u00a0Ten years into his tenure<\/a>, his methods have only grown more sophisticated and pervasive.<\/p>\n

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Targets in the disciplinary crackdown include\u00a0a retired member of the Communist Party\u2019s top leadership<\/a>\u00a0and a sitting\u00a0Politburo member<\/a>. Party enforcers punished some 627,000 people for graft and other offenses last year, roughly four times the number in 2012, when Mr. Xi took charge, according to party data.<\/p>\n

Mr. Xi now often uses subtler methods as well, such as taking down officials\u2019 associates with disciplinary probes and replacing them with his own prot\u00e9g\u00e9s, party insiders say. He also reassigns opponents to less important roles, or switches their portfolios to separate them from their power bases.<\/p>\n

Few are beyond Mr. Xi\u2019s reach. That includes one of his oldest friends,\u00a0Wang Qishan, who became China\u2019s vice president in 2018, a ceremonial sinecure widely seen as a reward conferred by Mr. Xi.<\/p>\n

Read it all<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Xi Jinping altered China's architecture of power not only with shock-and-awe purges, but also subtler techniques. He undercuts perceived rivals by taking down their political networks, an approach known as waqiangjiao, or \u201cdigging at the foot of a wall." https:\/\/t.co\/17i4RIY5tr<\/a><\/p>\n

— Chun Han Wong \u738b\u6625\u7ff0 (@ByChunHan) October 16, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n