File photo: On March 5, 2021, the day before the opening of China‘s National People‘s Congress (NPC), police patrol Tiananmen Square with dogs on a day of heavy air pollution in Beijing. (Photo by Kevin Frayer/Getty Images.)
[People News] On August 24, the front page of the Chinese Communist Party's "People's Daily" featured an article titled "Central Delegation Leaves Tibet and Returns to Beijing." The article reported that the central delegation, led by Wang Huning, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, concluded a series of activities in Tibet and returned to Beijing by plane on the 23rd.
According to reports, in addition to attending a celebration conference, the delegation, under the leadership of the head and several deputy heads, visited various locations to greet and comfort the cadres and masses of all ethnic groups in Tibet, as well as to assess the local economic and social development. Wang Huning led the main group to Shigatse, Vice Premier Zhang Guoqing led a subgroup to Changdu, Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress Luo Sangjiangcun led a subgroup to Nagqu, Vice Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference Hu Chunhua led a subgroup to Nyingchi, and Zhang Shengmin, a member of the Central Military Commission, led a subgroup to Shannan.
At first glance, the report appears to be unproblematic. However, when compared to another article published on the front page of the People's Daily on August 23 titled "Central Delegation Visits Various Places in Tibet to Greet and Comfort Cadres and Masses of All Ethnic Groups," an anomaly becomes apparent. The mention of Li Ganjie, the deputy head of the delegation and Minister of the United Front Work Department of the CPC, leading a group to Ali, which was included in the news on the 23rd, was suddenly removed from official media on the 24th.
The removal of a central committee member from official media is certainly not a trivial matter. The fact that official media republished the same content while deliberately omitting the report on Li Ganjie’s activities may indicate that he is likely to face trouble after returning to Beijing.
This raises the question of previous reports from abroad suggesting that He Weidong, Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission of the Communist Party of China, was taken away for investigation immediately after the "Two Sessions" concluded. Does this imply that the arrests of certain high-ranking officials within the Communist Party, who are under scrutiny, are typically executed only after they have completed their scheduled activities?
Indeed, there had been rumours regarding Li Ganjie’s downfall prior to this, with the most significant indication of his "demotion" occurring in April of this year. At that time, Shi Taifeng, who had previously served as the Minister of the United Front Work Department, was reassigned to become the Minister of the Organisation Department of the Central Committee, swapping roles with Li Ganjie, who was then the Minister of the Organisation Department. This change clearly indicated that Li Ganjie had lost his authority over personnel matters.
Such a role swap is quite uncommon in the history of the Communist Party of China. What could be the underlying reasons for this?
Looking at the background, Li Ganjie is associated with the Tsinghua faction and was once a close aide to Xi Jinping, a former Minister of the Organisation Department, and a protégé of Chen Xi, the current President of the Central Party School. With a background in nuclear reactor engineering, his career has progressed alongside Chen Xi's rise. He held various positions in Shandong Province, the hometown of Xi's wife, Peng Liyuan, including Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Acting Governor, and Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, and was elected to the Politburo of the Central Committee two years later, becoming Chen Xi's successor.
After Chen Xi was appointed as the President of the Central Party School, he began to assist Xi in selecting high-ranking officials who could be beneficial to him, entrusting the personnel authority of the Communist Party to the reliable Li Ganjie. This also explains why Li Ganjie has accompanied Xi on every research trip outside the capital. It appears that Xi is using these opportunities to evaluate whether local officials possess the necessary capabilities and, more importantly, to assess their loyalty to him and their potential to become part of Xi's inner circle.
However, following the news of Xi Jinping's illness that surfaced during the Third Plenary Session of the Communist Party of China in July last year, Li Ganjie, a close ally of Xi who had been accompanying him on local inspections, suddenly vanished from the list of those accompanying Xi on his trips. By April, when he was swapped with Shi Taifeng, it underscored that the loss of power among his backers was not without basis; otherwise, how could he remain indifferent to the change in the Minister of the Organisation Department?
The change in Li Ganjie's position also signifies that Xi's faction has lost its grip on personnel matters, as the newly appointed Minister of the Organisation Department, Shi Taifeng, is not a die-hard member of Xi's faction. He was promoted by Hu Jintao early in his career and worked alongside Hu for a decade. In March 2016, when the retired Hu Jintao returned to Taizhou, Jiangsu, for ancestral worship, Shi Taifeng, who was then the Governor of Jiangsu Province, even visited Hu Jintao at his home and had tea with the Hu couple in their courtyard.
If the rumours about Xi losing power are true, it is plausible that the elder statesmen of the Communist Party, who control the behind-the-scenes dynamics, placed Shi Taifeng—who was promoted by Hu Jintao—in this crucial position overseeing personnel matters. In fact, recent personnel changes over the past year indicate that many officials from Xi's faction have been replaced, and many of the newly appointed officials lack connections to Xi's faction.
More than five months after Li Ganjie's position was changed, the official media of the Communist Party suddenly removed him from news coverage, suggesting that the Party has likely confirmed the charges against him, and it is possible that he will face 'double expulsion' at the Fourth Plenary Session scheduled for October.
(First published by People News) △
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