China’s Powerful Elder Former President Hu Jintao Came Out to Support Xi Jinping

Retired leader Hu Jintao visits Yuelu Academy. Photo: SCMP

Hu Jintao’s signature at Yuelui Academy

Hong Kong’s Beijing-backed newspaper reports that China’s former president Hu Jintao visited Yuelu Academy within the campus of Hunan University. Yuelu is an academy well-known in Chinese history for over 1,000 years.

Hu was accompanied Zhu Hanmin, president of the Academy. According to Zhu, he did not know Hu’s visit until half an hour before the visit.

Hu had a small entourage in accordance with Xi Jinping’s regulations and he refused to write an inscription despite of repeated requests in accordance with Xi’s instruction. that leaders shall no write inscription without central authority’s approval. He finally agreed to give his signature as shown in the photo above.

The report says that when Hu made an inspection tour to Hunan more than a decade ago, he wanted to visit the Academy but did not have the time. He came this time to satisfy his old desire.

However, influential politician’s move must have some political intention.

Hong Kong’s SCMP quotes in its report Gu Su, a professor of political science at Nanjing University, as saying that Hu’s appearance was an indirect way to voice support for the current state leaders. The small entourage and refusal to write a inscription proved that.

In addition, SCMP quotes Zhang Lifan, a Beijing-based political affairs commentator, saying, “The party is very unstable. The probe against the ‘big tiger’ [a euphemism for former security tsar Zhou Yongkang ] has yet to be announced, while the target group of Xi’s anti-graft campaign has been widened to include the military and reportedly the Communist Youth League faction [Hu’s former power base.”

Therefore, the open support for Xi Jinping’s mass line campaign and anti-corruption storm by Hu Jintao, the head of the powerful Youth League faction with 8 Politburo members, gives a clear message to CYL Faction members that it is no use to complain to Hu when they are the targets of Xi’s campaign and storm. They had better behave themselves..

In the soon to be published expanded second edition of my book “Tiananmen’s Tremendous Achievements”, I said in the preface of the second edition, “More than 2,000 years ago, Shang Yang’s legal reform caused the sudden swift rise of the State of Qin as a power without rival.” However, “Reforms seldom succeed in Chinese history as they touch people’s soul and harm their vested interests. Shang Yang’s reform hurt aristocrats’ vested interests. When the sovereign of the State who supported Shang’s reform died, Qin aristocrats cruelly punished Shang Yang by tearing him asunder with five carts.”

Certainly, Xi Jinping is clearly aware of the danger. I give detailed description of his efforts to have obtained all the powerful elders’ and factions’ support before he took the reigns.

I mentioned in my book how Qiao Shi’s Legal and Democracy Faction supported Xi Jinping by its trick to bring down Xi Jinping’s rival Bo Xilai, the head of the powerful conservative faction.

Previously, Jiang Zemin, the head of the most powerful Shanghai Faction, has proved his support by requesting the placing of his name behind Politburo Standing Committee members and his words to Henry Kissinger.

There is hope for Xi to successfully deal with local despotism by his mass line campaign and overcome corruption with such strong support. However, his radical economic reform is much more difficult. It depends on his ability to find and employ talented scholars with moral integrity and create bondage with them.

Source: wenweipo.com “Hu Jintao visits Yuelu Academy, refuses to write inscription, signs his name only” (summary by Chan Kai Yee based on the report in Chinese)

Source: SCMP “Retired president Hu Jintao makes rare public appearance in Hunan”