Commentary
China’s “new civil war”—with Xi Jinping’s ultra-Maoists pitted against the “moderates” of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the free-wheeling private sector—accelerated with Xi’s lockdown of Shanghai beginning in March.
The lockdown of Shanghai (population of 25 million) was supposedly carried out to suppress a COVID-19 outbreak. In reality, it was nothing of the sort. As with the “zero-COVID” excuse to lock down the city of Xi’an (population of 13 million) for a month beginning on Dec. 22, 2021, Shanghai’s lockdown was designed to bring the locals to heel, ending the expectation of free movement and economic prosperity, ensuring that Xi’s political faction would not be challenged.
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