'New class war' comes for Xi's China as public frustration mounts

Economic anxiety will not be as easy to suppress as pro-democracy activism

20250107N China Beijing

The 'new class war' is a more formidable challenge to China's Communist Party than any democracy movement. © Reuters

TETSUSHI TAKAHASHI, Nikkei senior staff writer

TOKYO -- In spring 2011, I received a sudden call from a man claiming to be with the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau. After a blunt warning that "all unauthorized interviews are illegal," he hung up.

The call came while I was walking on Beijing's Wangfujing shopping street with my family. At first I worried about what he could be talking about, before it hit me.

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