Since Xi Jinping took office as the leader of the Chinese Communist Party, the cleansing of the officialdom has never stopped, but the problem of bureaucratic slackness seems to be getting more serious. Party media once again criticized officials for implementing policies in a contradictory manner, bargaining, and termed it as “selective adaptation”. Experts pointed out that in the post-Chinese Communist Party era, the CCP system has lost its momentum, and officials seem to be idling away.
The CCP’s official newspaper, People’s Daily, published an article on the 23rd, citing Xi Jinping’s criticism during a speech to cadres at the Central Party School in 2022, stating that some officials “prioritize departmental interests, local interests, small group interests, play on the edge of party central decision-making, engage in selective implementation, even deceiving and contradicting”.
The party media interpreted this mentality and behavior as “selective adaptation”, and criticized party members and officials for implementing policies half-heartedly, being selective in their approach, indecisive, and bargaining.
In fact, similar criticisms began to appear in official media two years after Xi Jinping took office in the “anti-corruption” campaign in 2015. Former Chinese Premier Li Keqiang often criticized bureaucratic slackness during his term, even banging the table in frustration.
Chinese Canadian writer and activist Sheng Xue told The Epoch Times that the criticism by the party media is not aimed at a small number of officials, but rather reflects a widespread phenomenon in the officialdom, representing the disintegration of the entire system in the post-CCP era. Chinese officials have been negligent in recent years, even acting in contradiction to policies, and the official coinage of terms like “selective adaptation” is an admission that it is difficult for decrees to come out of Zhongnanhai. Middle and lower-level officials selectively implement policies, often skirting high-risk or politically sensitive tasks.
“The entire system appears to operate highly centralized, but in reality, it is completely opportunistic and follows the wind. This has been the situation in the CCP for a long time, but it has now become more serious,” she said.
Lai Rongwei, Executive Director of the Taiwan Inspiration Association (TIA), told The Epoch Times that there is no monitoring force outside the CCP, which controls all state institutions with its absolute power, and these state institutions then control civil society. Officials are too preoccupied with internal power struggles to think about the concerns of the common people and are only calculating for themselves.
On the other hand, since Xi Jinping came to power, he has aimed to defeat all potential political enemies, each of whom has a group of people he must take care of. Therefore, almost everyone within the CCP is now waiting for Xi to make a misstep, avoiding taking any actions. “The constant appearance of such language in the media shows that he is untouchable. Even members of the Politburo Standing Committee, may not speak openly, but internally are thinking ‘let’s see what he does'”.
In 2015, there was a circulated article from the CCP’s Central Commission for Discipline Inspection official, Xi Hua, titled “Officials Are Waiting for Trouble to Happen”, in which it mentioned that during the failed peasant uprising in the autumn of 1813 – known as The White Lotus Uprising, the fate of the Qing Dynasty had been sealed by the cyclical laws of history, as the officials were all waiting for trouble to happen.
This article is also seen as a historical analogy, implying that China is facing a major upheaval.
Sheng Xue stated that the problems within the Chinese Communist officialdom are more severe than in any dynasty or country in human history, and society has fallen into a state of complete and widespread decay. For example, the recent incident of people in Hangzhou drinking sewage, along with similar incidents occurring more frequently in China, indicates that under the CCP’s strict control, officials are not just lazy and idle but are not focused on their responsibilities at all. The CCP system has lost its momentum, with officials appearing to be idling away. “This situation did not arise suddenly but has accelerated the collapse of power since Xi Jinping came to power.”
The Hudson Institute recently released a report, “China After the Communist Party”, which outlines a comprehensive strategy for dealing with a China without the CCP, encompassing military, economic, human rights, and other perspectives.
Sheng Xue remarked that the Hudson Institute’s report is strategically significant as it not only asserts that the CCP will collapse but also emphasizes that the United States is prepared for it.
In recent years, Xi Jinping has frequently warned of the crisis facing the political regime, claiming that the CCP has found the answer to breaking free from the cyclical laws of history, namely “letting the people oversee the government” and “self-revolution”.
Lai Rongwei stated that there is no “people overseeing the government” within the CCP, and the current system in China is a Leninist one. While claiming to practice “democratic centralism” and using various rhetorical packaging, there is only “centralism” without “democracy”, with no external forces supervising the party.
Lai Rongwei pointed out that if history follows cyclical laws, it dictates that “tyranny will perish”, and “the truth of history is that tyranny will perish, if the government treats the people poorly, the people will rise up (in revolt)”.