WEBVTT - Jenni Marsh on Xi (Audio)

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<v Speaker 1>Well, as you mentioned, the party Congress is underway on

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<v Speaker 1>the mainland and a new title for Chinese president she

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<v Speaker 1>is raising concerns of a Mad Jung style policy cult.

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<v Speaker 1>Joining us for a closer look is Jenny marsh Bloomberg,

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<v Speaker 1>Greater China Editor for the Government Team. Jenny, thanks so

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<v Speaker 1>much for being with us. The title, but I think

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<v Speaker 1>it's fair to say any title bestowed on the head

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<v Speaker 1>of our government conveys volumes. What are we talking about

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<v Speaker 1>in the case of she, Well, that's right, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>and she's deeping as someone who was famously accumulated so

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<v Speaker 1>many titles during his presidency so far that he's been

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<v Speaker 1>called the chairman of everything. But this one has a

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<v Speaker 1>particular weight because it's only been used previously in relation

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<v Speaker 1>to Mauzadong. So I think, you know, coming at this

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<v Speaker 1>critical time where she is sort of dismantling succession norms

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<v Speaker 1>and going for this third term in power, speaking fears

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<v Speaker 1>that you know, in fact, he might say in power indefinitely,

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<v Speaker 1>taking this sort of title associated with now is really

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<v Speaker 1>worrying some some within China. You know, China is being

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<v Speaker 1>rolled back to the era of personality cult which the

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<v Speaker 1>party kind of vowed never to roll back to after

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<v Speaker 1>Mail died and sort of pledged to have this system

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<v Speaker 1>of collective leadership. So you know, there's a lot of

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<v Speaker 1>sensitivity around this particular name. So to that point, I mean,

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<v Speaker 1>is there a consensus here on bestowing him with this

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<v Speaker 1>with this new title. We've seen two members of the

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<v Speaker 1>Politbureros that's China sort of top twenty five member decision

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<v Speaker 1>making body use it during the Congress so far um,

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<v Speaker 1>and it was also used in a cc d I

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<v Speaker 1>briefing at the previous weekend. So we're seeing high profile

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<v Speaker 1>party leaders now use the term. So you know, we'll

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<v Speaker 1>be watching out to see if we see the Standing Committee,

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<v Speaker 1>for example, UM, this kind of the Supreme Um rulemaking

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<v Speaker 1>body in Hong Kong, China, sorry, use that term as well.

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<v Speaker 1>We're not expecting it to appear in an official document

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<v Speaker 1>like the party charter, So there isn't like we're going

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<v Speaker 1>to see this kind of like baked in to the

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<v Speaker 1>Communist Party sort of official documents. It's much more about

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<v Speaker 1>kind of consensus and the feeling around she so a

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<v Speaker 1>little more subtlety, But in doing so, is there any

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<v Speaker 1>type of risk that he is taking on when he

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<v Speaker 1>when he chooses to embrace this, I think I think

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<v Speaker 1>there absolutely is. I mean, last week in Beijing there

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<v Speaker 1>was this kind of very rare protest, whether it's loan

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<v Speaker 1>loan protus a drape to sign over a prominent bridge

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<v Speaker 1>in Beijing, and one of the things they said was,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, we don't want a links to you a

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<v Speaker 1>great leader. We want um, we want elections, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>And that kind of just spoke to some of the

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<v Speaker 1>underlying dissatisfaction among certain parts of society in China, but

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<v Speaker 1>also within the party. I mean, there was a statement

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<v Speaker 1>last year from the from the party saying, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>like upholding the current leadership doesn't mean, you know, a

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<v Speaker 1>revert back to personality cults, which we firmly opposed. So

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<v Speaker 1>she's trying to walk a fine line here between cumulating

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<v Speaker 1>war power, staying in power, but also projecting the image

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<v Speaker 1>that he isn't rolling China back to sort of some

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<v Speaker 1>of the more controversial elements of Boos era. Yeah, I

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<v Speaker 1>was wondering next, I mean, kind of in keeping with

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<v Speaker 1>the point that you just made there, how people the

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<v Speaker 1>population in China would view this. Do we have a

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<v Speaker 1>sense of that? I mean, I would imagine that it's

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<v Speaker 1>going to vary a little bit just generally generationally. I

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<v Speaker 1>think it would very generationally. I mean, I think it's

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<v Speaker 1>it's so hard to know what people in China are

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<v Speaker 1>thinking about any of this. UM. I would say that,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, the COVID zero policy that she has sort

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<v Speaker 1>of um committed to earlier this year kind of generated

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<v Speaker 1>these very unfavorable comparisons with the Cultural Revolution, particularly during

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<v Speaker 1>the Shanghai lockdown, when you know, UM, the white suits

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<v Speaker 1>were going into people's flats and disinfecting everything and sort

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<v Speaker 1>of taking out the books and things like that, and

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<v Speaker 1>there was there was some pushback on social media to

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<v Speaker 1>sort of that decade, which they use a euphemism used

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<v Speaker 1>to refer to the Cultural Revolution, and people are making

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<v Speaker 1>that comparison between she UM and that sort of particular

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<v Speaker 1>particularly termal part of Mao's rule. So I would imagined too,

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<v Speaker 1>that if you use a lofty title, at some point

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<v Speaker 1>you're going to have to deliver results that kind of

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<v Speaker 1>match that, don't you think? Yeah, I guess it raises

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<v Speaker 1>the expectation for she. I mean, I suppose the important

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<v Speaker 1>thing to note is that UM, this is just like

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<v Speaker 1>an informal way of him gathering more power within the party,

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<v Speaker 1>But the important thing is obviously the fact that he

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<v Speaker 1>is staying in power and sort of stuffing his top

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<v Speaker 1>leadership with all the loyalists, and that's really what's gonna

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<v Speaker 1>be consolidate his power and raise expectations that he's going

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<v Speaker 1>to use that extra power to do something compressive and

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<v Speaker 1>whether or not it's a liability if you don't have

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<v Speaker 1>a diversity of opinion in that inner circle. Jenny, thank

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<v Speaker 1>you so much. Jenny Morrish's Bloomberg's Greater China editor for

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<v Speaker 1>the Government team, joining us here on debreak Asia