In November 2025, as China’s economy sputtered and its ideological controls tightened, Beijing staged a political spectacle that baffled many outside observers. At its center was a lavish commemoration marking the 110th anniversary of the birth of Hu Yaobang, the former Communist Party general secretary, widely remembered as the most liberal figure in the party’s modern history. For some China watchers, this high-profile tribute became a “weather vane” for change, sparking speculation that Beijing, under economic duress, might be signaling a return to Deng Xiaoping’s reformist path or at least a moderated political stance.

This linear interpretation, however, is a profound misjudgment. The grand commemoration was not an embrace by Xi Jinping of Hu’s liberal legacy; it was a meticulously orchestrated political séance. In this ritual, the ruling establishment appropriated a historical symbol, stripping Hu of his political soul as a “liberal vanguard” and preserving only the hollow shell of a “reform executor.” 

More crucially, this event signals a deliberate soft burial of the Deng era. Unlike the violent purges or open repudiations of the Maoist period, “soft burial” is a far more sophisticated form of political stratigraphy. It does not overtly dismantle past monuments but rather, through layer upon layer of new interpretations and narratives, quietly suffocates and buries the substantive meaning of “reform and opening up,” allowing it to sink into oblivion.

The Politics of the Dead

In the distinctive political culture of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), deceased leaders rarely retain their status as independent historical figures. Instead, their legacies are systematically transformed into fungible political assets, to be defined, dissected, and reconfigured at will by the current leadership, serving the party’s perpetual need to legitimize its rule and adapt its narrative. This tradition of “speaking through the dead” is, at its core, a profound power struggle among the party elite. It represents a potent means to seize the moral high ground, define doctrinal orthodoxy, and establish narrative hegemony, which in turn directly underpins leadership authority. Whoever controls the commemorative ceremonies and the drafting of eulogies asserts absolute dominion over these historical assets, shaping not just the past, but the present and future political trajectory.

CCP........

© The Diplomat