Xi Who Must Be Obeyed

Ian Buruma’s analysis of China’s historical evolution and President Xi Jinping’s quest for national unity is informative and well supported [“The Great Wall of Steel,” Report, February]. As he points out, China strives to maintain its hold on religious and ethnic minorities. People in China are also becoming more secular, and are embracing their country as a sacred object of worship instead, a substitution Xi capitalizes on. These two phenomena are connected: the government suppresses marginalized groups and weaponizes nationalism to create a unified front against foreign powers.

I am uncertain about…