To show off his finesse, Xi Jinping is launching attacks on all fronts. In Xinjiang, in Hong Kong, in the South China Sea, and in the Taiwan Strait, China’s powerful military force is being deployed. China is already a big country, is it necessary for it to show off its military power in this way? The message behind may not only be external threats. It is very likely that Xi is facing a power crisis in Beijing. He seems to be imitating Mao Zedong, on the one hand, purging potential political enemies, and on the other hand, consolidating his own political power. The people were unbearably disturbed by the long-term rhetoric attacks and military intimidation, but he never tires of them. All dynasties of China killed their founding heroes in the early days of their foundation and slowly eased into their golden ages. Xi went the other way. He began various oppressions when his power reached its peak.

Xi possesses military knowledge but lacks civilized management. He doesn’t trust the people around him, let alone the people far away. From Tibet to Hong Kong, the further the region from the center of his power, the more he feels the anxiety. Take Hong Kong as an example. The Anti-Extradition Movement has become his Achilles’ heel ever since it broke out. A real Golden Age should be managed by civilization, yet he has been showing his muscles all day long. Now he is suspicious because he has made too many enemies within the party and continues to clash with Japan and the United States in the international community. He can obviously treat his people better, yet he arrests innocent people everywhere and has enacted the Hong Kong National Security Law, which happens to prove that he does not have a firm hold.

The biggest crisis in his regime should be the outbreak of the novel pneumonia in Wuhan. Xi’s real enemy is the virus. He was able to avoid the risk of the disease, but now he sacrificed the earliest whistleblower Li Wenliang and sacrificed more Chinese people. After the pandemic got out of control, Xi handled it with political measures. A disease should be handled with medical treatment, but he uses political measures. This is a clear sign of Xi’s infirmity. He should have put the virus as his first enemy, instead, he has chosen his own people. He was unable to cure the disease, but he decided to control the people. He is creating enemies everywhere without noticing, and he goes out to provoke every neighbor. Xi’s sense of crisis is too strong, and his behavior has already fallen out of control.

After several arrests and releases, Jimmy Lai was released on bail. But after 8 days of bail equivalent to house arrest, the bail was revoked on Dec. 31 before New Year’s Day. A mighty country thus showed its powerlessness. The political maturity of the Hong Kong Government is equivalent to that of an infant. This is like the last days of the Kuomintang in China, hunting down or imprisoning intellectuals. This is not like the stature of a stabilized administration. With so many cities within its territory in lockdown, they continue to shut up intellectuals. When the Hong Kong National Security Law was passed on June 30 last year, the Hong Kong Basic Law was almost nullified. Xi’s vulnerability became even more evident, and the rule under China is completely inferior to British colonial rule.

On the surface, Xi looks like a strong man, but he has betrayed his own secrets by making laws in the name of “national security” and “maintaining stability.” National security is needed because of anxiety; stability is needed only because of instability. Lai’s repeated arrests and releases also accentuated the uncertainty of those in power in Beijing. Because of the lack of a stable law, the content of the law can only be enforced in accordance with the political climate. Because it relies on Xi’s rule of man, it is impossible for China to enjoy a society with the rule of law. Lai is actually testing water for all Hong Kong people, and also sounding out the legal limit for the entire people of China. For freedom of speech, Lai is more of a man than Xi.

(Chen Fang-Ming, Chair Professor, Graduate Institute of Taiwanese Literature at National Chengchi University)

Click here for Chinese version

We invite you to join the conversation by submitting columns to our opinion section: [email protected]

Apple Daily reserves the right to refuse, abridge, alter or edit guest opinion columns for accuracy, length, clarity, and style, and the right to withdraw and withhold columns based on the discretion of our editorial page editors.

The opinions of the writers do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editorial board.

---------------------------------

Apple Daily’s all-new English Edition is now available on the mobile app: bit.ly/2yMMfQE

To download the latest version,

iOS: bit.ly/AD_iOS

Android: bit.ly/AD_android

Or search Appledaily in App Store or Google Play