China’s emperor for life, Xi Jinping, has gone missing in his country’s hour of need

Chinese President Xi Jinping gestures near a heart-shaped sign and a slogan which reads “race against time, fight the virus” during an inspection of the centre for disease control and prevention in Beijing. Picture: AP

China’s army of internet censors is struggling to contain angry social media users. Al Jazeera, February 7:

China controls the internet more than just about any country in the world. However, the censors are struggling to contain the outrage over the coronavirus outbreak. There’s widespread anger that the disease has killed Li Wenliang, one of the first doctors to sound the alarm. He was arrested by police and forced to confess to “spreading rumours”. Users of China’s social media network, Weibo, described his death as a national humiliation. Even the state media is backing public calls for government leaders to say sorry for silencing him.

Richard McGregor, The Guardian Australia, Sunday:

In an interview with Chinese magazine Caixin before his death, Li delivered his own verdict on the government’s handling of the issue: “I think there should be more than one voice in a healthy society.” It is wise to be cautious about the political impact of a single event or, in this case, one person’s death, especially in China, which is ruled by an opaque Communist Party. After all, can a virus that has so far claimed more than 700 lives, fewer than in a normal flu season in many countries, really hold the future of China in its thrall? … Much of their anger was captured in a single moment that embodied their fears that Xi Jinping is taking the country backwards.

Chris Buckley, The New York Times, Monday:

The coronavirus epidemic, which has killed more than 800 people in China and sickened tens of thousands, comes as Xi has struggled with a host of other challenges: a slowing economy, huge protests in Hong Kong, an election in Taiwan that rebuffed Beijing and a protracted trade war with the US. Now the Chinese leader faces an accelerating health crisis that is also a political one: a profound test of the authoritarian system he has built around himself over the past seven years. As the Chinese government struggles to contain the virus amid rising public discontent with its performance, the changes that Xi has ushered in could make it difficult for him to escape blame. “It’s a big shock to the legitimacy of the ruling party. I think it could be only second to the June 4 incident of 1989. It’s that big,” said Rong Jian, a writer.

James Griffiths, CNN, February 5:

Since he first intervened in the Wuhan coronavirus crisis in late January, ordering “all-out efforts” to contain its spread, Chinese President Xi Jinping has been personally directing the country’s response. At least, that’s what state media has been repeatedly emphasising — Xi himself has not been seen for several days, missing from his usual place of prominence on the front page of the state-owned People’s Daily newspaper and in the nightly newscast on state broadcaster CCTV. This is weird because … Xi typically dominates media coverage at the best of times.

Alexandra Ma, Business Insider Australia, February 8:

President Xi Jinping is nowhere to be found. Xi has issued multiple statements about the virus, characterising the battle against the disease as a patriotic struggle, but has made no public or on-camera appearances … Officials have praised Xi’s leadership in their speeches — but Xi has not been seen on the frontlines once.

A brittle society? Charlie Campbell, Time, February 6:

The crisis has already demonstrated that the centralisation of political power under Xi has made Chinese society brittle. The question now is what it will endure before it begins to crack.