The Meat Grinder Keeps Producing Pressure and Panic

March 11, 2023: Senior members of the CCP’s Central Military Commission line up to take the oath at the National People’s Congress. From right to left: Zhang Youxia, He Weidong, Li Shangfu, Liu Zhenli, Miao Hua, Zhang Shengmin. (Lintao Zhang/Getty Images)

[People News] Recently, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) announced the expulsion of nine senior generals—confirming widespread claims that the regime’s upper ranks are embroiled in fierce political infighting and a sweeping military purge. On October 3, social media posts revealed that the two current powerholders in charge of the military, Vice Chairmen of the Central Military Commission Zhang Youxia and Zhang Shengmin, appeared at a military meeting in Beijing. Both lavishly praised Xi Jinping, seemingly pledging loyalty to the Party.

After intense internal struggles that left China’s economy in shambles, Xi Jinping—contrary to outside expectations—did not step down or retire from power. He still retains his three top positions: CCP General Secretary, President of the People’s Republic of China, and Chairman of the Central Military Commission. Yet, state-run media have recently emphasized “collective leadership,” and phrases like “the one and only leader” or “chairman responsibility system” have disappeared from official propaganda. This raises suspicions that although Xi still holds all three titles, his actual authority may have been weakened.

Even so, officials and military officers are still required to publicly voice their support for Xi Jinping. Since Xi serves as the CCP’s General Secretary—the face of the Party—praising him is effectively pledging allegiance to the CCP itself. If an official fails to demonstrate absolute verbal loyalty to the Party, they risk being crushed by the CCP’s political “meat grinder.”

This is especially true now, as the Chinese public seethes with anger over economic hardship. Public discontent has surged, and incidents of mass protests and rights-defense actions are growing. Increasing numbers of citizens are shouting slogans such as “Down with the Communist Party” and “Down with Xi Jinping.” Facing what it calls a “great upheaval,” the CCP finds itself in a life-or-death crisis. In such times, the regime trusts no one and therefore demands that all officials within the system publicly declare their loyalty—even though it knows these declarations are hollow. For the Party, such rituals are necessary to prolong its political survival.

The X (Twitter) account @蔡慎坤 (Cai Shenkun) noted that in the first three quarters of this year, 90 provincial- and ministerial-level officials have been placed under investigation—the highest number since the CCP’s 20th National Congress. The purge within the military has been even more severe, with the recently expelled generals serving as prime examples.

All of this shows that even at a moment when the CCP is confronting an existential crisis, it continues to generate internal bloodshed and terror, coercing officials and military leaders to make public shows of loyalty to maintain its fragile grip on power.

(First published by The People News) △