Cai XiaSee this excellent Chris Buckley profile of Cai Xia. was a professor of political theory at the Central Party School of the Chinese Communist Party in Beijing between 1998 and 2012. But in late 2020, after her sharp critiques of the Party and its leader, Xi Jinping, began circulating online, she was expelled from the Communist Party. In one talk that leaked online, she said, "This Party is a political zombie." By that time, though, she was already residing in the U.S., where she remains today, living in exile as a political commentator and dissident. In the following interview, which was conducted long before the 20th Party Congress, Professor Cai talked about growing up a princeling, teaching at the Party School, and Xi Jinping's consolidation of power. (Her comments were translated from Chinese, in part, by Anne Henochowicz.)
Cai Xia. Illustration by Kate Copeland
Q: Can you tell us about your background? How did you end up at the Central Party School?
A: I was b
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