Hong Kong crisis threatens to spoil Xi's party

For the regime in Beijing the 70 th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China on October 1 is not just a celebration: it is a vindication. Forget (or better – don’t mention) the famine of the Great Leap Forward, the frenzied destruction of the Cultural Revolution, and the Tiananmen Square massacre in 1989. China is now stable and prosperous under the safe, expert leadership of the Communist Party. Everything is splendid and it will get even better.

But like the propaganda, the tightly choreographed mass jubilation will look archaic, not impressive. China has indeed modernized its economy, but not its politics. The party leadership’s Leninist thinking struggles with imperfection. Problems can be blamed on foreigners and saboteurs. But admitting mistakes, especially recent…