Blowing down the CCP's house of cards

Deng Xiaoping understood that a rules-based system was essential to avoid a repeat of the fanatical terror unleashed under Mao Zedong. But his conviction could not overcome his self-interest, and, as President Xi Jinping has shown, the institutional edifice Deng built in the 1980s turned out to be hollow.

Last updated: 24. July 2025