WikiLeaks on China's Next President
Anyone wanting to know a little more about Xi Jinping, the presumed successor to Chinese President Hu Jintao, should take a look at a couple of new articles. The first, a special report by Reuters, takes a look at some previously unreleased material from WikiLeaks. It’s unclear where exactly Reuters obtained the cables, with the article only stating that they came from a ‘third party.’ Wherever they’re from, though, they offer a fascinating look at the man who is set to lead China from next year.
Xi is apparently painted by US officials as an elitist ‘who believes that the offspring of Maoist revolutionaries are the rightful rulers of China.’ On the question of human rights, the cables apparently have little to say on Xi’s views, but they do note that his father was critical of the crackdown on the Tiananmen Square protesters and also that the Dalai Lama apparently had ‘great affection’ for Xi’s father.