But it's still a mistake to draw a straight line from Mao to Xi, Prof Karl argues, because it dismisses all that came in between - and the Chinese who dreamed or fought for a different country. Many of them mention Andrew Tate, the controversial influencer who has been banned from several platforms for his misogynist views. When Boris Johnson was still in the running yesterday, Sir Roger said he was considering resigning from voting with his party in parliament - but not any more. irannews.ru Comparing Xi Jinping to Mao Zedong is "inane", scoffs Rebecca Karl, a professor of Chinese History at New York University. The two-minute video, from an account with about 1,700 followers, has been viewed more than 1.2 million times. That certainly seemed to be the case under Xi's predecessor, Hu Jintao - corruption was on the rise and his authority was being openly ignored and even challenged. "Some of the comments have been healthy, a couple of people have changed their minds while replying to each other. I think it's important, it needs to go out there." Now China is saying it out loud, and its "wolf warrior" diplomats, named after a patriotic action film franchise, are going on the verbal offensive. In China this is hugely popular.
