TOKYO -- On Aug. 25, the People's Daily, the mouthpiece of the Chinese Communist Party, ran a splash headline on its front page that caught the eye of China watchers around the world.
"The people's leader loves the people," it said.

Chinese President Xi Jinping, left, was referred to as the "people's leader" in state media, the honorific for Mao Zedong. (Nikkei Montage/ Getty Images/ Reuters)
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