Charismatic leaders, that is demagogues, like people to perceive themselves as very masculine. They and their close supporters, or cult leaders, sometimes go to ridiculous lengths in this effort. PRC President for Life Xi Jinpeng is one of these men.

In March 2017, Xi claimed that he carried bags of 110 kilograms of wheat over 3 miles of mountain road without changing shoulder, a feat deemed extraordinary and broadcast by China Central Television during what was described as an image-crafting campaign. Wikipedia

A cult of personality has developed around Xi since he became the Communist Party Chairman. “In 2017, the local government of the Jiangxi province told Christians to replace their pictures of Jesus with Xi Jinping” (Wikipedia). The man’s ego has been continuously inflated from being surrounded by songs and art dedicated to him.

The party banned personality cults in 1982, and until Xi, its leaders seldom invoked the Great Helmsman beyond perfunctory references to “Mao Zedong Thought.” While officials insist that Xi isn’t resurrecting a Mao-style cult, the party has gone to great lengths to elevate Xi’s stature at the expense of Deng, the man credited for trying to inoculate China against one-man rule. Deng (Xiaoping) remained a towering figure well after his death in 1997, revered for enriching the nation and transitioning it toward a more stable leadership. Time

Deng was a great leader; prophetic in a way. The new leader, Xi, and his sway over the ruling party is powerful. He has managed to turn Deng on his head.

The Chinese Communist Party doesn’t like to think of cults of personality as religion per se. They prefer it considered as a “worship of thought.” The results aren’t markedly different; worship of an autocratic personality as an all powerful leader. Jinpeng’s political philosophy, called “Xi Jinpeng Thought,” was enshrined into the Communist Party constitution in 2021.

A historical resolution passed by the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP)’s Central Committee seeks to position current leader Xi Jinping as the political heir of late supreme leaders Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping who will take the country to new heights, surpassing the achievements of his predecessors, analysts told RFA. U.S.-based political commentator Hu Ping said the omission of former leaders including Hua Guofeng, Zhao Ziyang, and Hu Yaobang from the document suggest that Xi is only interested in associating himself with hugely powerful leaders from the party’s past.”Xi Jinping wants to position himself as not just surpassing Deng, but Mao as well,” Hu said. “The whole issue of Mao Zedong is linked to the cult of personality around him.” Radio Free Asia

One aspect is the requirement of Chinese citizens to show reverence and deference to Xi Jinpeng. Another is the imposition of the love of Xi, through torture, of races in China who are not Han. Part of Marxist philosophy is the eradication of ethnic identity and history to form new, culturally homogeneous societies. The Uyghur people have been the object of “love through fear” techniques to win their worship of Xi.

In the past decade, there has been increasing documentation of human rights abuses in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (referred to as “Xinjiang”). Various investigations, by journalists, governments, and independent groups, indicate a coordinated, state-led effort to suppress core aspects of Uyghur identity…Reported abuses include arbitrary detention, torture, sexual violence, invasive surveillance, forced labor, state-imposed birth control measures, and family separation. In response, the Uyghur Tribunal investigated and reviewed evidence to assess whether Chinese actions meet legal standards for torture, crimes against humanity, and genocide under international law HRRC

Did you know, Winnie the Pooh is banned in the PRC (BBC).

• Behind the Personality Cult of Xi Jinping Foreign Policy
• Chinese Communist Party resolution affirms ‘cult of personality’ around Xi Jinping Radio Free Asia
• Want to escape poverty? Replace pictures of Jesus with Xi Jinping, Christian villagers urged South China Morning Post
• Love through Fear: The Personality Cult of Xi Jinping in Xinjiang Academia edu
• Who are the Uyghurs and why is China being accused of genocide? BBC
• Persecution of Uyghurs in Xinjiang:Torture, Crimes Against Humanity, and Genocide Human Rights Research
• China in Xi’s “New Era”: The Return to Personalistic Rule Journal of Democracy
• How Xi Jinping made himself unchallengeable BBC
• How China guards the Xi creation myth BBC