Chinese writer Wang Lixiong’s highly-discussed political allegory novel “The Yellow Peril,” published in 1991, has been gaining attention as he recently mentioned in an interview that China is getting closer to the collapse depicted in the novel.
In mid-May, the 72-year-old Wang Lixiong was interviewed by a journalist from the Central News Agency in Shanghai, discussing why he believes China (CCP) is heading towards collapse and where the solution lies.
Published in 1991, Wang Lixiong’s political allegory novel “The Yellow Peril” portrays a China under the rule of the CCP, trapped in political, economic, and demographic crises, ultimately leading to a national collapse that threatens the existence of the world and humanity. The book quickly became a bestseller shortly after its release in 1991, selling over 10,000 copies in Hong Kong but was banned in mainland China.
“I believe the path to the ‘Yellow Peril’ is very clear. The CCP is heading in that direction now,” he said.
Written after the bloody crackdown of the June Fourth Tiananmen Square protests, Wang Lixiong revealed that many CCP leaders have read his book. These officials all wish to avoid China descending into the “Yellow Peril,” but the question remains whether it is possible to do so.
Wang Lixiong, a writer and an expert on issues concerning ethnic groups like Tibet and Xinjiang, has been contemplating the concept of “layered governance” since 1975, also known as progressive democracy, and has been attempting to implement it in society. He believes this is the core for inducing change in the CCP system.
He recounted instances where his attempts at village self-governance and community homeowner autonomy in cities were suppressed. His efforts to establish a senior mutual aid association in rural areas were met with oppression from local authorities, including the public security, cultural, and commerce departments acting against the initiative.
“They blocked every step. There is hardly anything I can do now,” Wang Lixiong lamented.
Wang Lixiong once planned to establish a civil dialogue mechanism with Uighur scholar Ilham Tohti. However, Ilham was sentenced to life imprisonment on charges of separatism in September 2014, leading to the complete closure of any dialogue opportunities.
In 2017, Wang Lixiong’s novel “The Ceremony” was published, delving into internal power struggles behind CCP celebrations, showcasing ubiquitous high-tech totalitarian surveillance. The backdrop includes the top-down use of epidemic prevention campaigns to clamp down on opponents. This novel was deemed as foreseeing the social reality that followed the outbreak of the new coronavirus (CCP virus) in China.
By the end of 2019, the COVID-19 pandemic erupted, prompting the CCP to enforce strict zero-COVID measures, resulting in city-wide lockdowns and sparking discontent among the populace. By the end of 2022, “Blank Paper Movements” erupted in multiple cities across China, including Nanjing, Shanghai, Beijing, and Chengdu, with people taking to the streets demanding the lifting of restrictions. In Shanghai, protestors chanted slogans like “Down with the Communist Party” and “Down with Xi Jinping.” The “Blank Paper Movements” quickly spread overseas, garnering support. Eventually, the CCP authorities rescinded the zero-COVID policies.
Wang Lixiong regards “The Ceremony” as a precursor to a trilogy of novels on China under CCP rule, with the other two being “The Yellow Peril” and “Transmigration.” “Transmigration” is another political allegory novel.
He asserts that present-day China is in the era depicted in “The Ceremony,” which will eventually come to an end one day, presenting two choices: the path to collapse, chaos, and a “Yellow Peril” where all Chinese people flee, or the potential for a transformation avoiding collapse known as “Transmigration.”
“If nothing is done now, it will lead to the ‘Yellow Peril,'” he remarked.
However, he expresses doubts about China avoiding the path to the “Yellow Peril.” The ultimate decisive factor that could bring down the CCP remains unknown, possibly arising from internal discord or a series of successive mass incidents.
Positing a scenario, Wang Lixiong suggests that if there exists a significant number of marginalized individuals in Chinese society, such as urban dwellers without jobs who cannot return to the countryside, or those feeling a sense of unfairness and dissatisfaction, scattered throughout but waiting for a triggering event, a collective uprising might occur. Events like the death of Premier Zhou Enlai in 1976 and Hu Yaobang in 1989 were signals that sparked large-scale mass movements.
“If only a few million Chinese start looting in the streets, cutting off logistics in the city and countryside, with a national army of only 2 million, what kind of situation would it be?” he questions.
He emphasizes, “If only a few hundred incidents like this occur in China, it will immediately escalate.”
Wang Lixiong asserts that grassroots CCP officials are aware that they are the target of public anger and know when it is time to flee, leading to an immediate loss of control.
Approaching the 35th anniversary of the publication of “The Yellow Peril,” China has yet to collapse, causing some to doubt Wang Lixiong’s predictions of “collapse.”
Wang Lixiong contends that within the grand scheme of history, over 30 years is but a brief moment. The political structure of China (CCP) is doomed to collapse, experiencing abrupt mutations with no alternative solutions. Without the CCP being able to acknowledge problems, devise an overarching plan, gradually transition and change, undergo a profound transformation, such opportunities and mechanisms do not exist, ensuring that collapse is inevitable fate.
In one of his newer books, Wang Lixiong introduces the “Sand Pile Theory,” likening a regime to a heap of sand. While the sand pile may temporarily stabilize with a firm tap from a large shovel, it is not a perpetual fix. The higher it is piled, the more severe the eventual collapse will be.