7/11/2021, 10:58 am
Letter to the editor in the WSJ in reply to their article 100 Years of Chinese Communism:
The Chinese Communist Party sees the world as the Wild West, and its long-term survival depends on its ability to obtain a monopoly on power. Despite its rhetoric, the Party pledges no allegiance to any particular ideology, be it communism, socialism or even the fervent nationalism that your editorial stresses. The Party will profess whatever ideology justifies its power grab and helps secure its power at the moment. But make no mistake, power is the Party's only belief.
The Party follows no rules. Since its founding, it has not hesitated to do whatever it deems necessary to obtain and stay in power. We often emphasize its reliance on violence, terror and fear, but the Party is also a master of using deceit and temptation to advance its cause. Which approach it takes at the moment depends on whether the balance of power shifts in its favor or not.
The Chinese Communist Party has embraced limited economic reforms only because it recognized that economic growth was necessary to maintain its political power. But the Party remains deeply hostile to liberal-democratic values. It sees everything that democracy stands for, such as free and open elections, as threats to its monopoly on power. Under no circumstance will the Party tolerate any real or even imaginary threat to its power. That's why the Party is a danger to the Chinese people, global freedom and democracy.
The Party follows no rules. Since its founding, it has not hesitated to do whatever it deems necessary to obtain and stay in power. We often emphasize its reliance on violence, terror and fear, but the Party is also a master of using deceit and temptation to advance its cause. Which approach it takes at the moment depends on whether the balance of power shifts in its favor or not.
The Chinese Communist Party has embraced limited economic reforms only because it recognized that economic growth was necessary to maintain its political power. But the Party remains deeply hostile to liberal-democratic values. It sees everything that democracy stands for, such as free and open elections, as threats to its monopoly on power. Under no circumstance will the Party tolerate any real or even imaginary threat to its power. That's why the Party is a danger to the Chinese people, global freedom and democracy.