In an unusually public meeting in Beijing, Communist Party leader Xi Jinping is once again making it clear who calls the shots in the Chinese regime, which, according to Xi, faces a “new historical situation” and “unpredictable risk factors.”
Speaking on May 19 in the Great Hall of the People to honor of state security agents, whom he addressed as “august guards and nameless heroes” that the “Party and the people will never forget,” the 61-year-old party boss demanded from the security establishment “absolute faith” in the Party’s leadership.
The meeting and Xi’s remarks were publicized on multiple Chinese state-run media, an uncharacteristic move for a regime that usually keeps information about its security agencies tight under wraps.
According to Xinhua, a state-run media mouthpiece, Xi said that China currently finds itself in a period of “deep reform,” implementation of rule of law, and application of hard discipline against Party members.
Bringing State Security to Heel
Observers said that Xi’s words indicate his awareness and concern about deeper contradictions within the regime’s power structure, anti-corruption campaign notwithstanding.
