Addressing the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday, President Xi Jinping of China called on the world to “join hands to uphold the values of peace, development, equity, justice, democracy, and freedom shared by all of us.”
Xi must think we’re idiots.
After all, as the Communist Party chairman offered that noble rallying cry for the democratic rule of law, the Second Intermediate People’s Court of Beijing was simultaneously proving the boss a total liar. The court did so by announcing that Ren Zhiqiang has been sentenced to 18 years in prison. What was Ren’s crime, you might ask?
Calling Xi a “clown.”
I’m not kidding. The court says that Ren, a successful Chinese businessman with a penchant for satirical writing, has been convicted of “corruption, bribery, embezzlement of public funds, and … abuse of power.” Ren has “voluntarily confessed all his crimes truthfully, admitted all the criminal facts alleged, and voluntarily accepted the court’s judgment. … Ren expressed his obedience to the court’s decision in court and did not appeal.”
Let’s be clear: This has nothing to do with corruption or embezzlement. No evidence has been produced that Ren committed any such offenses. Instead, this is a punishment of a previously high-profile individual for doing something no Chinese citizens are supposed to do: question or tease the dear and unimpeachable leadership of Xi.
Ren certainly did that. And with aplomb.
Earlier this year, Ren penned a column suggesting that Xi was a “clown.” The “emperor,” Ren continued, “is holding up a piece of cloth, trying to cover up the fact that he is wearing no clothes at all.” These words don’t play very well in the mind of the man who would be the next Mao Zedong. Ren was quickly kidnapped into a secret prison. Then, in July, a discipline tribunal declared that Ren had been expelled from the Communist Party because he had “vilified the image of the party and the country … and was not loyal to the party.” Ren had “seriously violated” his “life discipline,” the tribunal claimed.
Note the distinctions in excuses here. Back in July, Xi’s minions were quite honest about the fact that Ren was being punished for his insults against the party leader. Now, however, they’re saying that Ren has been sent to prison for being a corrupt thief. Why the shift? Presumably, it’s because Beijing is aware just how bad this looks to the rest of the world. It doesn’t exactly match up with Xi’s call at the U.N. for “equity, justice, and democracy” and establishing a “community with a shared future for mankind.” On the contrary, Ren’s sentence proves only that Xi is an increasingly paranoid leader unable to tolerate questions. Xi certainly wants to make clear to his population that Ren is an example of what happens when citizens ask questions. Ren is 69 years old, so his 18-year incarceration is a de facto death sentence.
Tuesday showed two Xi’s: the Xi who smiles as he lies to the world and the Xi who enforces tyranny at home.
