As China grapples with cascading natural disasters, President Xi Jinping’s conspicuous absence draws intensified online scrutiny, in contrast to former leaders’ active roles in crisis management.
This past weekend saw not only ongoing rescue operations in the country's flood-ravaged northern region, but also the central and southwestern regions battling persistent rainfall. These have resulted in tens of thousands of people being displaced.
A mudslide on the fringes of Xi'an, a central Chinese city, claimed at least two lives on Friday. In addition, state media confirmed the evacuation of 81,000 people from high-risk areas in Sichuan Province.
The absence of Xi during these difficult times, fueled online discontent. Xi was last seen in public on July 31, just three days after Typhoon Doksuri struck China, when he appeared on television in Beijing for a military promotion event. Chinese netizens were already riled in the first week of August when the Communist Party boss of Hebei Province called on the people of the province to stand firm as a "good moat" of protection for Beijing.
Radio Free Asia's Mandarin Service highlighted netizens sharing visuals of former Chinese leaders, including Jiang Zemin and Hu Jintao. Notably, footage captured Hu assisting soldiers and Premier Li Keqiang wading through the flooded fields of Chongqing.
Lin Shengliang, a Chinese dissident in the Netherlands, told RFA Mandarin that the absence of top leaders on-site during disasters reflects arrogance of power.
“It proves that he [Xi Jinping] is firmly in control, a manifestation of arrogant power. He's not even willing to stage-manage [relief and rescue efforts].”
According to Lin, Xi’s absence could have a detrimental impact on subsequent rescue and post-disaster reconstruction efforts.
“If the highest national leader doesn’t go to the scene or doesn't attach importance to the matter, how can those below take it seriously?” asked Lin. “Even if they do take it seriously, it’s just putting on a show for the higher-ups.”
Mixed messages
Unlike reporting in the West on extreme weather – most recently, apocalyptic fires in Hawaii in which close to 100 perished, a number that is expected to grow – “climate change” is apparently a taboo subject for Chinese state media.
As The Economist recently noted that Chinese reporting on natural disasters tends to dwell "on heroics by soldiers, officials and rescue teams," while Chinese social media users mutter on the sidelines about official incompetence.
Meanwhile, state media commentary on the official response to the latest disasters has been confusing even for those well-versed in the People’s Daily – a state media source of news and commentary that is seen as an opaque window into the inner workings of the Chinese Communist Party.
An RFA Mandarin commentary referenced the People’s Daily: “If one cannot lead by example and take the initiative, how can others truly be convinced and willing to follow?” It asked, “Who is the article referring to?”
The People’s Daily on Aug. 10 featured, “Without leadership, there is no compliance; without leading by example, there is no trust – general secretary’s wisdom in quotations.” Another article read, “At critical moments, leading from the front line... in flood control and disaster relief.” With Xi Jinping as the CCP's general secretary, social media debates emerged, questioning if these were “high-level criticism.”
RFA Mandarin pointed out that leaders like Jiang Zemin and Hu Jintao consoled the public during disasters. However, since Xi's leadership, he hasn’t visited affected areas.
“Isn't this exactly what the article means by 'If one cannot lead by example and take the initiative, how can others truly be convinced and willing to follow?’” the commentary said.
New York City University professor of political science, Xia Ming, told RFA Mandarin that, regardless of how recent pronouncements in the People’s Daily are read, Xi Jinping is confronting a leadership crisis, with his tight grip on the inner government indicating concerns for his safety.
“The grievances of the Chinese people are significant right now. If he were to confront the people face to face at present, the cost of maintaining stability would be high” he said. “They would certainly need to arrange actors from the masses, and that would backfire rather than achieve the desired effect.”
‘Government deceit’
Former Tiananmen student leader-turned-China politics watcher Wang Dan wrote for RFA last week that flooded cities in Hebei Province were classic examples of “man-made catastrophes” that cast a bad light on the current state of China.
After floodwaters were deliberately released to lift flooding pressure on Beijing and other CCP key areas, the CCP authorities "resorted to their usual strategy of lies, blaming the heavy rainfall," leading to clashes with the populace in the city of Baoding, wrote Wang, describing the situation as an impasse.
“It's evident that the general public is aware of the government’s deceit, and the government is equally aware of the public’s awareness … Apart from instances of collective protests, the Beijing Red Cross Society’s call for donations to aid disaster relief was met with overwhelming negative response and mockery online, another way the public's dissatisfaction was expressed.”
Online discussions of calls for public donations for relief and rescue operations have been ridiculed due to a lack of any visible government response.
If nothing else, wrote Wang Dan, the latest natural disasters churning the lives of ordinary Chinese in Xi’s absence are a blow to his popularity and to the credibility of the party structure he has built around himself.
“While we cannot predict to what extent the public resentment caused by natural disasters will impact the stability of the regime, the fact that such resentment is accumulating in China is undeniable,” he said.
Edited by Taejun Kang and Joshua Lipes.