Xi’s memo is a wake-up call

Chinese President and CCP Secretary-General Xi Jinping

For the CCP, there is nothing more dangerous and threatening than for Western 'pollutants' to be picked up, internalized and adapted by 'Chinese' societies 

Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) and his comely wife, Peng Liyuan (彭麗媛), may be the most outwardly attractive first couple to lead China in several generations, but behind the smiles and the glamor lies a hardline streak that Taiwan should not — cannot — ignore. 

For months before he became president and chairman of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), China watchers were divided on whether Xi would be a reformist in the same vein as former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev or the continuation of more conservative elements within the Chinese leadership. 

That speculation came to a head last week, when sections of a secret memo to Chinese officials were briefly made public in Chinese media. 

My unsigned editorial, published today in the Taipei Times, continues here.