Editor’s note for Monday, October 24, 2022

My thoughts today:

The biggest political event in China of the year is over, and we are left with one certainty: Xí Jìnpíng 习近平 is more powerful than ever and poised to rule for life if he so chooses. That is wholly unsurprising to anyone who has been reading this newsletter since 2016, but Xi’s speeches during the 20th Party Congress also made it crystal clear — for those who still harbored illusions — that there is no hope of a more cuddly, liberal China for the foreseeable future.

The only surprising thing about the Party Congress was the undignified exit of former Party Secretary Hú Jǐntāo 胡锦涛 from the closing ceremony (read our top story today for more on this).

Some are speculating that Hu had not been informed that every single person associated with his “faction” would be removed or demoted, and that he objected when he read the document folder in front of him, which led to his untimely exit. Others say that he was simply having a senior moment — he is widely believed to be suffering from dementia, and that his colleagues had to send him away to avoid potential embarrassment.

We’ll never know the truth. But Hu’s graceless disappearance from the political stage will be remembered as a symbol of the end of an era in China.

Our word of the day is sexagenarian (六十多岁的人 liùshí duō suì de rén).