Time - INT (2022-06-06)

President Samia Suluhu Hassan
took office in March 2021, and her
leadership has been a tonic. That leadership has been a tonic. That
year has made a big difference to year has made a big difference to
Tanzania. A door has opened for Tanzania. A door has opened for
dialogue between political rivals, dialogue between political rivals,
steps have been taken to rebuild steps have been taken to rebuild
trust in the democratic system, trust in the democratic system,
efforts have been made to efforts have been made to
increase press freedom, and increase press freedom, and
women and girls have a new women and girls have a new
role model. role model.
In September 2021, just a In September 2021, just a
few months into her presidency, few months into her presidency,
Suluhu Hassan delivered a Suluhu Hassan delivered a
landmark speech as only the fifth landmark speech as only the fifth
African woman leader ever to African woman leader ever to
address the U.N. General Assem-address the U.N. General Assem-
bly. She stood on the spot where bly. She stood on the spot where
I stood 15 years before as the first I stood 15 years before as the first
democratically elected woman democratically elected woman
President in Africa. President in Africa.
“As the first female President “As the first female President
in the history of my country,” she in the history of my country,” she
said, “the burden of expectation said, “the burden of expectation
to deliver gender equality is to deliver gender equality is
heavier on my shoulders.”heavier on my shoulders.”
As she spoke these powerful As she spoke these powerful
words, I couldn’t help but think words, I couldn’t help but think
how strong the shoulders of how strong the shoulders of
women leaders are and how women leaders are and how
much they can make a difference.much they can make a difference.

Sirleaf is the former President Sirleaf is the former President
of Liberia and a Nobel Peace of Liberia and a Nobel Peace
Prize winnerPrize winner

SamSamia Suluhu ia Suluhu

HHassanassan

Opening doorsOpening doors

B Y E L L E N J O H N S O N S I R L E A FB Y E L L E N J O H N S O N S I R L E A F

Xi Jinping

Consolidating power

BY JEFFREY WASSERSTROM

Xi Jinping has had a profound impact

domestically and globally since as-

cending to power as Communist Party

General Secretary in 2012, soon after

which he became President and since

has developed the biggest Chinese

personality cult since Mao’s.

The easiest way to describe this

impact used to be by listing things he

did, from launching the Belt and Road

Initiative—a massive infrastructure

investment strategy to expand China’s

influence globally—to starting a crack-

down on corruption and ratcheting up

one on civil society with the second-

ary goal of eliminating political rivals.

He also did away with a constitutional

provision aimed at preventing rul-

ers for life and, after a cover-up of

a new virus’s spread caused global

harm, implemented a zero-COVID

policy that succeeded in minimizing

the disease’s domestic spread but has

locked millions in their homes.

To assess Xi’s particular impact

in 2022, however, it’s worth high-

lighting four things he has not done

but might have: reconsidered the

zero-COVID strategy that has been

criticized by the World Health Orga-

nization chief as “not sustainable”;

reversed course on Xinjiang, the site

of horrific human-rights abuses; dis-

tanced himself from a warmonger-

ing Vladimir Putin; and, of course,

named a successor.

Wasserstrom is the Chancellor’s

Professor of History at UC Irvine

and author of The Oxford History

of Modern China

HASSAN: ELIZABETH FRANTZ—REUTERS; XI: JIMMY BEUNARDEAU—REDUX/HANS LUCAS; MCCARTHY: CHRISTOPHER LEE FOR TIME; ABIY: PETTERIK WIGGERS—PANOS PICTURE S/REDUX

64 Time June 6/June 13, 2022