Chinese Leader Xi Jinping Signals Return to the Mao Era

ldiers of the People's Liberation Army are seen before a giant screen as Chinese leader Xi Jinping speaks at the military parade marking the 70th founding anniversary of People's Republic of China, on its National Day in Beijing on Oct. 1, 2019. Jason Lee/Reuters

Analysis

April 4, 2021, Easter Day, was the same day as the Ching Ming Festival in China, also known as Tomb Sweeping Day, the day when the Chinese honor ancestors and families gather to pay respect to the dead. On this day, the Chinese regime quietly opened the grave of former Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Chairman Mao Zedong’s wife Jiang Qing, but blocked that of former General Secretary Zhao Ziyang, who stepped down because of his opposition to the 1989 Tiananmen Square Massacre. This opening of one and closing of another released an important political signal.