Why the left must condemn China’s brutal authoritarianism

Xi Jinping's architecture of torture and oppression demands an engaged and principled position.

Police set up barricades to stop protesters from escaping from the Hong Kong Polytechnic University in the Hung Hom district of Hong Kong on November 18, 2019. - Hong Kong riot police swooped on pro-democracy protesters trying to flee a university they had set ablaze, in one of the most violent confrontations seen in nearly six months of unrest. Hundreds of demonstrators clashed throughout the day with police who had threatened to use deadly force, as protests also flared in other parts of the city. (Photo by ANTHONY WALLACE / AFP) (Photo by ANTHONY WALLACE/AFP via Getty Images)

Chinese society, Xi Jinping wrote in a recent article, should be like “stars revolving around the revered moon” – where the stars are the citizens, and the moon is the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

The party has a long list of admirable goals: the harmonious development of the country into a moderately prosperous society, modernisation of governance, the rule of law “with Chinese characteristics” and the “harmonious coexistence of man and nature”.