Does the crackdown go beyond the entertainment world?

Yes, in fact, it’s probably more accurate to say that the attacks on the entertainment industry are spillover from Xi’s larger plan to rein in capitalism and have the party play a much more active role in the Chinese economy. While Xi isn’t attempting to completely eradicate market forces, he is aiming to make life a lot tougher for wealthy entrepreneurs and large companies, perhaps exemplified by a slew of regulations against the tech industry and the possibility that Beijing will allow the cash-starved major property developer Evergrande collapse. Xi has painted this movement in ideological terms with an eye toward restoring Mao’s socialist vision after years of evolution toward Western-style capitalism.

Has the effort reached the classroom?

Recently, the government introduced a new ideology into the nationwide curriculum. It’s called “Xi Jinping thought,” and is geared toward helping teenagers “establish Marxist beliefs” through the specific views of the president. China’s Ministry of Education said it wants to “cultivate the builders and successors of socialism with an all-around moral, intellectual, physical, and aesthetic grounding.” “Xi Jinping thought” isn’t a brand new phenomenon — it was enshrined in the constitution in 2018 and has already been introduced in some universities and youth political circles, but now it will become much more widespread. The lessons, which will be integrated from primary school up to university, include education on national security, as well as labor education to develop the younger generation’s “hard-working spirit.”