Chinese Whispers: how the Cultural Revolution shaped China's leaders today

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🗓️ 31 May 2022

⏱️ 54 minutes

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Summary

All eyes are on the Communist leadership this year, as the months count down to autumn’s National Party Congress, where Xi Jinping may be crowned for a third term. But how much do we really know about the Party’s leadership? In particular, can we better understand them through looking at the experiences that they've had?

Take Xi Jinping, who is what is known as a 'princeling' – his father was the Communist revolutionary Xi Zhongxun, one of the Party's early cadres. How did that upbringing impact him, and his faith in the Chinese Communist Party?

Also consider the Cultural Revolution – the sixtysomethings on the Politburo Standing Committee would have been teenagers during that decade of turmoil. How did it form who they are as leaders today?

Joining Cindy Yu on the podcast is Professor Kerry Brown from Kings College London, whose latest book is Xi: A Study in Power, so very knowledgeable on the President himself; as well as Professor Steve Tsang, a historian at SOAS.

Transcript

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0:00.0	The Spectator Economic Innovative of the Year awards, sponsored by InvestTech, are open for entries.
0:07.0	If you are an entrepreneur-led business bringing radical change to its sector, please apply at www.
0:14.0	We are looking for entries all across the UK, and our closing date is the 4th of July.
0:33.3	Hello and welcome to Chinese Whispers with me, Cindy Yu.
0:36.8	Every episode, I'll be talking to journalists, experts and long-time China watchers about the latest in Chinese politics, society and more.
0:44.6	There'll be a smattering of history to catch you up on the background knowledge and some context as well.
0:49.3	How did the Chinese see these issues?
0:52.7	This year, all eyes are on the Chinese Communist Party's leadership as we're
0:55.9	coming up to another National Party Congress. It's where President C is meant to be cementing his
1:00.7	third term in power. But how much do we really know about this generation of communist leaders,
1:06.3	the ones who might replace Presidency in the future? In this episode in particular, I want to
1:10.6	talk about their formative experiences.
1:12.7	What were the things that impacted them and made them who they are as they were growing up?
1:17.4	On this episode, I'll be joined by Professor Kerry Brown, who's at King's College London
1:21.1	and author of a recent book on Presidency called Xi, A Study in Power.
1:25.7	So he's an expert on the man.
1:29.7	And also by Professor Steve Tang,
1:35.6	who is a historian at SOAS. So Steve, I want to start with you. Can we look at the Politburo Standing Committee? It's average age of 67, which means that they would have all been
1:39.2	teenagers when the Cultural Revolution started. So I want to start with that experience,
1:43.6	which must be one of the most formative moments in their lives. For listeners who don't know, what was the
1:48.6	experience like for young people during the Cultural Revolution? Perhaps you could start with the
1:52.4	earliest, with the Red Guards. Well, the Cultural Revolution was an amazing time for the young
	...

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