In the name of “defending democracy,” American Democrats weaponized our government apparatus in an attempt to eliminate a former president. As it turns out, Democrats’ despotic tactics to hold power are disturbingly reminiscent of those employed by the authoritarian communists running China. On Saturday, Chinese leader Xi Jinping appeared to make a similar move against his predecessor.
In now widely seen footage from the Communist Party Congress, Hu Jintao—the former Chinese president and symbol of ideological opposition to Xi—was dragged out of Beijing’s Great Hall of the People. Hu was sitting to the left of President Xi on the last day of the congress until a man in a suit and surgical mask pulled him out of his seat and out of the Great Hall, apparently against his will.
Hu Jintao’s Removal a Power Play
The Chinese state media are reporting that Hu’s removal was due to a health complication, but Hu did not appear to be suffering from any kind of medical emergency as he resisted being pulled out of the Great Hall. Moreover, the Communist Party Congress is a highly rehearsed event, prompting many to suspect the incident was no accident. In televising the physical expulsion of his predecessor, it’s possible Xi orchestrated Hu’s removal to signal his absolute power over China.
Hu is a leader of a political faction within the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) that supports a freer Chinese economy. The BBC reports that Hu’s presidency between 2003 and 2013 was “seen as a time of opening up to the outside world and increased tolerance of new ideas.” Since Xi has taken control, though, a consolidation of power and the promotion of Chinese nationalism have taken precedence, while Hu’s hope for China to seek global approval and acceptance has fallen by the wayside.
Over the years, Xi has been slowly purging anyone linked to Hu’s administration or political vision for China. According to the BBC, the “last remnants” of political opposition to Xi were removed from power after economic liberals Li Keqiang and Wang Yang were not reelected to the CCP’s Central Committee at the congress this year.
The alarming video depicting Hu’s physical removal from the assembly represents a stark contrast between illiberalism and freedom. Upon taking power, elected leaders from free countries with secure elections and stable governments do not persecute their political enemies. Condemning one’s predecessor or political opponent to prison (or worse—death) is the behavior of dictators in authoritarian regimes and third-world banana republics.
American Left Adopt Same Tactics
If one were to claim the U.S. is different from and better than communist China, how would we know it? Let’s compare the facts on this specific sector. During the 2016 election, Democrats and the deep state conspired to annihilate the campaign of then-candidate Donald Trump. Once Trump was duly elected by the American people, Democrats and the feds (with the help of the corporate media) tried overthrowing his presidency using falsified evidence and illegal tactics.
Even after Trump lost the 2020 election, Democrats have continued attacking the former president, his supporters, and his advisers. Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home was raided by the FBI in August, and it appears President Joe Biden was directly involved in launching the FBI’s investigation of his predecessor.
Democrats also used the events of Jan. 6, 2021 to punish Trump supporters who sincerely question the integrity of the 2020 presidential election. Americans who attended the Jan. 6 protest were thrown into solitary confinement, lost their jobs, had their banking data shared with the feds, and are still imprisoned today.
House Democrats’ official weapon against MAGA country has been the Jan. 6 Committee. The committee threw House precedent and its own organizing resolution bylaws out the window. It refused to follow House deposition rules, lied in subpoenas, and even doctored evidence. It also failed to investigate serious questions about what happened during the Capitol riot—like why Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi delayed deploying the National Guard, why the Capitol Police were half-staffed, or whether there were FBI informants present during the riot.
Instead, the committee abused its power to crucify Jan. 6 protesters and Trump advisers, such as Peter Navarro and Steve Bannon. In an unprecedented prosecution, Bannon was sentenced to four months in prison last week for ignoring a subpoena from the Jan. 6 Committee, and Navarro heads to trial next month on the same charges. The last Jan. 6 hearing ended with the committee dramatically subpoenaing Trump, which signaled that the apparent finale of the committee’s hearings in no way means Democrats’ crusade against their political adversaries is over.
The nearly decade-long political persecution of Trump has made the former president something of a symbol for the breakdown in American democracy. However, the growing similarities in tactics between U.S. Democrats and the CCP predate Trump. During the Obama administration, Democrats weaponized the IRS to target conservative nonprofits. Through “Operation Choke Point,” leftists used federal power to target businesses they disliked, like gun sellers.
Democrats’ War on Dissent
Indeed, the disintegration of American democracy is bigger than the left’s war on Trump. The left is waging an ideological battle against half of the United States. In January, former Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe equated “mainstream” conservatives to Islamic terrorists and called for their surveillance. Parents who oppose critical race theory have been dubbed domestic terrorists. Pro-abortion arsonists and Black Lives Matter rioters get a pass, while the FBI raids the homes of peaceful pro-life activists.
Democrats have put us on a path to erode American freedoms and make the U.S. a lot more like China. Xi appeared to have Hu physically removed from the Great Hall last weekend. In the American version, Trump’s political opponents tried to destroy his campaign, unseat him from office, and thwart any future political aspirations he may have. An American model of the Chinese social credit system is forming as well, considering the way innocent Americans have lost their livelihoods, freedom, and even lives for the crime of questioning Democrats’ right to power after the 2020 election.
In publicly removing Hu, Xi brazenly signaled to the people of China and the world that he is in power and dissent will not be tolerated. Democrats still hide their aims behind lofty, dishonest notions of “freedom” and “democracy.”