--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When it became clear that Xi Jinping was…" description: "\"“When it became clear that Xi Jinping was placing his bet on fortifying the status quo, another Party aristocrat, Hu Dehua, the sixty-three-year-old so..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/35b/evan-osnos-19078_china_when-it-became-clear-that-xi-jinping-was_2156638.jpg" --- # When it became clear that Xi Jinping was placing his bet… ![“When it became clear that Xi Jinping was placing his bet on fortifying the status quo, another Party aristocrat, Hu Dehua, the sixty-three-year-old son of a previous Party chief, Hu Yaobang, used the protection afforded by his family name and pedigree to openly criticize the president. The real…” quote by Evan Osnos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/35b/evan-osnos-19078_china_when-it-became-clear-that-xi-jinping-was_2156638.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/35b/evan-osnos-19078_china_when-it-became-clear-that-xi-jinping-was_2156638.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/35b/evan-osnos-19078_china_when-it-became-clear-that-xi-jinping-was_2156638.jpg) > ““When it became clear that Xi Jinping was placing his bet on fortifying the status quo, another Party aristocrat, Hu Dehua, the sixty-three-year-old son of a previous Party chief, Hu Yaobang, used the protection afforded by his family name and pedigree to openly criticize the president. The real reason the Soviets fell, Hu Dehua argued, was that they couldnt stop themselves from appropriating public property by graft and bribery. The Party, Hu said, was indeed facing a crisis. There are two options: to suppress the opposition or to reach reconciliation with the people, he said. It had faced this choice once before, in 1989; and in an astonishing acknowledgment of the bloodshed at Tiananmen, he asked, What does this mean: man enough? Is driving battle tanks against your own people man enough?”” [Evan Osnos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evan-osnos/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote highlights internal criticism within the Chinese Communist Party, comparing current leadership’s conservatism to past crises and questioning the moral justification of state violence against citizens. **In simple terms:** Party insiders warn about authoritarianism and moral decay. Key Takeaway Recognize the cost of suppressing dissent. Themes politics morality authoritarianism history leadership Mood critical concerned reflective Type analytical commentary political When to use this quote - policy analysis - academic discussion - public debate - media commentary Key Concepts political theory ethical dilemma reform state violence Questions to Reflect On - What alternatives exist for reform within authoritarian regimes? - How can citizens influence change when dissent is suppressed? 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Sanger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-e-sanger/) [Browse all 3,827 China quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/china/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“When it became clear that Xi Jinping was placing his bet on fortifying the status quo, another Party aristocrat, Hu Dehua, the sixty-three-year-old son of a previous Party chief, Hu Yaobang, used the protection afforded by his family name and pedigree to openly criticize the president. The real reason the Soviets fell, Hu Dehua argued, was that they couldnt stop themselves from appropriating public property by graft and bribery. The Party, Hu said, was indeed facing a crisis. There are two options: to suppress the opposition or to reach reconciliation with the people, he said. It had faced this choice once before, in 1989; and in an astonishing acknowledgment of the bloodshed at Tiananmen, he asked, What does this mean: man enough? 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