Xi's draconian curbs stifling Chinese citizens: Dissident

In an opinion piece, Jianli Yang, the founder and president of Citizen Power Initiatives for China, argued that Xi is "paranoid" about anything that can challenge his power, be it religion, corporates or celebrities.

"As per the recent news affairs, the Chinese president seems to be on a spree to control the vein of Chinese society," he said.

"China's authoritarian leader, President Xi Jinping, is bent on putting restrictions on every facet of the life of citizens, be it top military representatives, gamers, or kindergartners. Everyone is expected to follow the rules set by the communist leader," he further said.

Jianli is of the view that Xi has been hastily changing the Governors of the Western Theatre Command (WTC) since the Galwan Valley incident to fortify the border with India.

Since 2020, the Chinese government has replaced four governors at the border, he said.

Listing the recent appointments and reshuffling in People Liberation Army (PLA), Jianli highlighted that Xi has been shaping the structure of the PLA to fit his ideology of the perfect China.

"Since he came to power in 2012 as the chairman of the Central Military Commission, his primary goal has been to take over the country's military forces. From 2012 until now, Xi has presided over 13 PLA promotion ceremonies and promoted over 66 military leaders to the position of Generals," he said.

"As he has personally stationed so many generals, this is Xi's way of saying, 'I own your butter, and you owe me your loyalty.' He now has several of his confidants to the highest military position in China who owe him loyalty and are ready to do his bidding, no questions asked," he added.

Jianli accused Chinese authorities of enforcing strict restrictions in every aspect of life, making it difficult for common men to live freely. In this regard, he said that people of China are not even free to follow their celebrity crushes.

"There is a strict rule that all celebrities are expected to promote the CCP agenda and nationalism on screen. Anyone who deviates from the party lines is depicted as immoral is immediately banned," he pointed out.