Dark clouds hang over Tiananmen Square in Beijing. (Lintao Zhang/Getty Images)
[People News] Traditionally, the CCP holds its monthly Politburo meeting at the end of each month. However, this October's meeting was unexpectedly moved up by 8 days, drawing significant attention from observers. Many analysts believe that the primary reason for this deviation from routine is to create time and policy space for upcoming major personnel and political arrangements.
According to a report from the CCP's official media, Xinhua News Agency, the Central Committee of the CCP's Politburo convened on October 23 to review the comprehensive report from the seventh round of inspections. The official announcement stressed the need for higher standards and more effective measures to ensure strict governance of the Party and to maintain a high-pressure approach to combating corruption.
Issuing a warning to the officialdom and military
In straightforward terms, these lofty official remarks are merely a reflection of the distinctive 'political jargon' used within the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) bureaucracy. This effectively serves as an open ultimatum to both the bureaucracy and the military: the ongoing internal purge will be unforgiving, and it has already become fully institutionalized and normalised.
The repeated emphasis on 'strictness' in the conference resolutions does not pertain to high moral or administrative standards, but rather signifies absolute loyalty and unconditional obedience in a political context. Officials categorised as 'politically disloyal,' 'forming cliques,' 'two-faced,' or engaging in lip service are all primary targets for rectification. The so-called 'strict governance of the Party' implies that the purging will not cease; as long as the authorities perceive you as insufficiently loyal, the axe will fall without mercy.
'Loyalty' has become an unquantifiable abyss.
As the economy continues to decline, diplomacy faces persistent challenges, and social tensions escalate, the dictator has shifted all blame onto the bureaucrats within the system, leading to increasingly harsh demands for officials' 'loyalty.'
In response to the overwhelming pressure from above, officials below have developed their own strategies—slogans shouted louder than anyone else, daily raising the banners of 'two establishments' and 'two safeguards,' yet when it comes to actual implementation, they all opt to lay low, avoid risks, or even resist covertly.
However, this self-preservation tactic of 'professing loyalty while opting to lay low' among officials is viewed by the highest echelons as the quintessential example of 'two-faced' behaviour. Given the difficulty in distinguishing true loyalty from false loyalty, the safest, albeit most paranoid, course of action is to continuously initiate new rounds of inspections and purges, relying on the instillation of fear to maintain absolute control.
'Turning the blade inward' is solely aimed at preserving power.
This compels Xi Jinping to persistently arrest individuals, even to the point of adopting the stance that 'it is better to wrongly arrest a thousand than to let one escape.'
Ironically, the more arrests are made, the more Xi Jinping's inner sense of fear remains unchanged. In fact, he has become trapped in a vicious cycle: the more people he detains, the greater his suspicions grow; the more terrified he feels, the more he perceives threats around him, compelling him to continue the arrests.
At the core of this situation is the supreme authority's profound lack of security. The only way for him to maintain his absolute power is to completely eliminate any factions that could challenge or undermine his authority, all under the pretext of 'strict governance of the Party.'
From 'special project rectification' to 'institutionalised convulsions'
Xi Jinping's previous anti-corruption campaigns typically targeted specific factions, such as the 'oil clique,' 'political and legal clique,' or 'rocket army.' However, the current approach of 'comprehensive strict governance of the Party' and regular inspections indicates that this purge has expanded to every corner of the bureaucratic system—from central agencies and the political and legal system to the financial sector and military equipment departments.
This recent Politburo meeting particularly stressed the need for 'real action and genuine reforms,' which, in the eyes of officials, means that regardless of one's rank or experience, being placed on the purge list guarantees no chance of a 'safe landing.' The entire bureaucratic and military environment is now one of pervasive fear.
Fear keeps Xi awake at night
As the saying goes, 'Pulling out a radish brings out the mud.' Authorities have found that each time a high-ranking official is arrested—whether a senior Military Commission member, the Minister of Defence, or a provincial-level official—a significant number of subordinates, confidants, and associated interests are also exposed.
This has led Xi Jinping to believe that there are so many "disloyal elements" within the party and military that he cannot possibly purge them all! Such thinking only intensifies his fears and anxieties.
Even more troubling is that dictators can become trapped in a cycle of endless suspicion: the remnants and sympathisers of those who have been purged, along with the yet-to-be-caught "potential associates," are all living in extreme fear. When people realise that "even compliance could lead to purging," their motivations for survival and rebellion are ignited! Consequently, the chances of conspiracies, coups, or even military uprisings within the bureaucracy and military increase.
In other words, the threats and fears experienced by those in power are escalating geometrically as the purges expand!
Xi Jinping's Mental Health Issues
Yuan Hongbing, a legal scholar based in Australia, has repeatedly pointed out in overseas programs that Xi Jinping's psychological and mental state has become severely problematic.
Yuan Hongbing revealed that insiders within the system have confirmed that Xi Jinping is deeply entrenched in a psychopathic state characterised by "paranoid delusions," constantly believing that the military and bureaucracy are rife with "double agents" and false loyalists. The primary reason for his mental breakdown, which has even led to this "apocalyptic purge," is the widespread betrayal and defection of senior generals he personally promoted—including Li Shangfu, senior officials of the Rocket Force, Miao Hua, He Weidong, and others!
All Opportunities Lost
The Chinese Communist Party is currently facing a comprehensive governance crisis across domestic, foreign, and economic fronts. Many commentators candidly assert that the CCP's current situation has reached a point where it has lost all "timing, location, and harmony."
Firstly, there is the loss of 'timing': the end of development dividends and external opportunities. The 'demographic dividend' and 'globalisation dividend' that fueled China's rapid growth over the past few decades have vanished. The economic advantages that the Chinese Communist Party once enjoyed have nearly disappeared, and the economy has entered a new normal characterised by low growth.
Moreover, the comprehensive shift in Western countries' policies towards China has moved from previous cooperation and engagement to a current focus on 'de-risking' and technological containment. The international environment continues to worsen, and China has entirely lost the favourable external conditions for peaceful development.
Secondly, there is the loss of 'geography': the restructuring of supply chains and the diminishing of internal geographical advantages. Due to geopolitical tensions and rising costs, foreign investments and multinational corporations have adopted a 'China+1' strategy. They no longer view China as their sole production base, opting instead to relocate their supply chains to Southeast Asia or India, which poses a significant challenge to China's previous central role in the supply chain.
Domestically, the collapse of the real estate bubble and the ongoing downturn in the housing market have led to the complete failure of the 'land finance' model that local governments relied on, resulting in soaring debts across various regions and a collective slowdown of regional economic engines.
Lastly, there is the loss of 'harmony': the weakening of the social contract and a crisis of confidence. With many private enterprises going bankrupt and high unemployment rates among young people, a negative mindset characterised by 'lying flat', 'giving up', and 'runxue' has spread throughout society, severely undermining confidence in consumer spending and corporate investment.
In the past, the public was willing to give up some political rights in exchange for 'sustained economic growth', forming an invisible social contract—people refrained from challenging the political monopoly of the Chinese Communist Party, while the Party responded with economic prosperity and improved living standards.
However, today, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is placing an increasing emphasis on national security and is tightly controlling public opinion. Alongside an economic slowdown and stricter regulations, the public's mindset has shifted from 'seeking wealth' to 'seeking survival.' Calls for 'the Communist Party to step down' and 'Xi Jinping to step down' are echoing, and trust in the CCP regime is rapidly diminishing. The legitimacy of the CCP's rule is facing the most serious crisis in its history!
A large-scale political purge is imminent.
The recent Politburo meeting approved a resolution for 'strict governance of the Party in all aspects,' which many observers believe marks the largest political purge rehearsal by the CCP since the end of the Cultural Revolution. We can expect a continuous stream of rumours about high-ranking officials being ousted.
On October 22, the CCP held a high-profile event at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing to commemorate the '90th Anniversary of the Victory of the Long March.' However, Hu Chunhua, Vice Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, was notably absent. Following this, former Inner Mongolia official Du Wen disclosed that Hu Chunhua and his family are currently unaccounted for!
Moreover, General Zhang Like, Minister of the Defence Mobilisation Department of the Central Military Commission, also appears to have been absent from this conference, and his whereabouts remain unknown.
Simultaneously, on October 22, Beijing's Executive Vice Mayor Xia Linmao was officially announced to be under investigation. It is important to note that Xia Linmao is a trusted former aide of Politburo Standing Committee member Cai Qi! Sources have informed the media that Xia Linmao's case involves a wide network of connections, closely linked not only to several individuals associated with the case of former Politburo member Ma Xingrui but also directly implicating Cai Qi's son, Cai Erjin!
Even more shocking is that Huang Qifan, known as the "political weeble" for having navigated the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) through multiple leadership changes, was also investigated and fell from grace on October 13. The fact that even a seasoned political figure like Huang Qifan, who has spent many years in the bureaucratic arena, has been taken down illustrates that the internal purge within the CCP is spiralling out of control and spreading outward.
According to the usual practice since Xi Jinping took office, prior to the convening of the Central Committee plenary session, authorities typically focus on reporting the cases of high-ranking officials, or "tigers," who have been expelled from the party. Everyone is eagerly awaiting to see which astonishing figures will appear on this list.
A recent analysis report from the American think tank "Asia Society" indicated that among the 376 Central Committee members and alternate members elected at the 20th National Congress of the CCP in 2022, only 291 are expected to attend this meeting, resulting in an attendance rate of approximately 77.4%, a historic low! This starkly demonstrates just how severe the internal purge has been recently!
This set of data objectively confirms external observations with the most compelling facts: this purge, conducted under the pretext of "strict party governance" and "anti-corruption," has severely backfired on the highest power core of the CCP itself. With nearly 25% of the upper echelon being reshuffled, it not only shatters the illusion of "political stability" but also thoroughly exposes that the CCP, as a totalitarian regime, can only rely on endless self-destruction and purging to barely maintain a fragile balance in its survival crisis after losing institutional trust!
(People News first published) △
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