[The Epoch Times, September 26, 2022](Comprehensive report by Xu Yiyang, a reporter from the Epoch Times Special Department) Airports across China have recently canceled domestic flights on a large scale, causing public opinion to question and speculate about what happened in China? The 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China is getting closer and closer. Considering the fact that large-scale flights have been canceled during the previous major incidents at the top of the Communist Party of China, analysts believe that the repetition of this scene has triggered the international community to pay close attention to the real situation of the top-level turbulence of the Communist Party of China on the eve of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party.
On the evening of September 21, screenshots of large-scale cancellations of flights at airports across the country circulated on the Chinese Internet. Many netizens asked, what happened to the large-scale cancellation of flights in various cities?
Data show that as of 10:35 p.m. on September 21, 9,583 flights across China had been cancelled, with a cancellation rate of 59.66%.
The cancelled flights were not only in busy air transport hubs such as Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen, but also extended to three airports in the western provinces of China, which had the highest flight cancellation rate: 539 flights were cancelled at Longdongbao Airport in Guiyang City, Guizhou Province. 99%; Tibet Lhasa Gonggar Airport cancelled 157 flights, with a cancellation rate of 98%; Sichuan Chengdu Tianfu Airport cancelled 752 flights, with a cancellation rate of 87%.
In addition, the flight cancellation rate of airports such as Urumqi Diwopu Airport in Xinjiang, Tianjin Binhai Airport, Heilongjiang Harbin Taiping Airport, and Sichuan Chengdu Shuangliu Airport all exceeded 50%.
On the evening of September 21, on China’s social media Weibo, the topic of large-scale flight cancellations was quickly pushed to the hot search. A Chinese netizen said: “Such a large number of flights were suddenly cancelled in peacetime. If there is no major incident, it would be hell!”
Chinese officials did not provide an explanation for the widespread cancellation of flights. Chinese news sites claim the high rate of flight cancellations has been the norm since the outbreak of the coronavirus.
On September 21, the CCP held a seminar on defense and military reform in Beijing. Xi Jinping, the top leader of the Communist Party of China and chairman of the Central Military Commission, told the meeting that the military should “focus on preparing for war”. According to a video released by CCTV, the mouthpiece of the Chinese Communist Party, Xi Jinping did not attend the meeting, but made the above request.
Chen Pokong, a Chinese-American political commentator, believes that the reason for most of the flight cancellations is not the epidemic. Chen Pokong said in his self-media program on September 24 that the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China is approaching, and before the 18th and 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, large-scale flights have been cancelled, and this time may also be involved. to political struggle.
Flights from Shenzhen to many places have been cancelled
On March 5, 2020, there were media reports in China that the flight from Shenzhen to Hangzhou, Zhejiang was cancelled, and the reason given by the airline was “public safety reasons”.
In addition to the flight to Hangzhou, flights from Shenzhen to Beijing, Shanghai, Nanjing, Jiangsu and other cities that night were all displayed as canceled. In addition, several flights from Guangzhou to Hangzhou that night were also cancelled.
At that time, a video on the Chinese Internet showed that a military plane crashed in Wuqing District, Tianjin, on March 5. Since Tianjin is adjacent to Beijing, the matter has sparked a lot of speculation. Netizens linked the incident to the flight cancellation incident, and analyzed that there might be “a key official who fled and was shot down”, and called it a “repeat of the Lin Biao incident.”
12 airports in China banned from flying to catch Zhou Yongkang
In late July 2014, there was news on the Chinese Internet that from July 20 to August 15, 12 airports in East China and Central China will have large-scale delays for 26 days.
An insider of the CCP’s civil aviation later confirmed to the CCP’s official media “Beijing News” that the online news is basically true, but it is inconvenient to disclose the specific reason and time. The main affected flights are the east and southeast coastal directions. Flights to the Southwest, Northwest, and West regions are not affected.
At that time, the number of cancelled flights and the long period of time aroused concern both domestically and internationally.
The Civil Aviation Administration of China stated on July 24, 2014 that the flight delay or temporary cancellation was due to a combination of factors such as thunderstorms and routine military exercises. The Civil Aviation Administration also suspended applications for temporary flight plans such as business jets, overtime, and charter flights at the airports involved.
Prior to July 14, Shanghai also experienced abnormal aircraft delays. There is news on Weibo that there is a major military activity in East China (Shanghai) from 10:00 to 16:00 that day, and a notice has been issued. It is expected that the traffic capacity will drop by 75% during the event, which is a red warning. The Air Traffic Network, which is run by the Civil Aviation Authority’s Air Traffic Management Bureau, confirmed the news of the busy airspace in the area, but did not explain why.
Some airline staff told Chinese media that the air control was due to military exercises.
However, the CCP authorities notified on July 29, 2014 that Zhou Yongkang, a former member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China and secretary of the Political and Legal Committee, was put on file for review. On December 6 of the same year, Zhou Yongkang was announced to be expelled from the party and transferred to justice. In June 2015, Zhou Yongkang was sentenced to life imprisonment for accepting bribes, abusing his power, and deliberately leaking state secrets. Zhou Yongkang was the highest-ranking official to be sacked after the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China.
The Hong Kong media “Ming Pao” published an article in January of the following year, stating that the 12 airports were banned at the same time in order to catch the “big tiger” Zhou Yongkang who was trying to flee. Zhou Yongkang has mastered the CCP’s politics, law and public security for many years, and has many minions. This is a condition that other “tigers” do not have, and there is a great chance of successfully absconding.
The Epoch Times previously reported that Zhou Yongkang was sacked because he and Bo Xilai plotted a coup attempt to seize power from Xi Jinping. The coup plan was led by the former leader of the Communist Party of China Jiang Zemin, and the mastermind of Zeng Qinghong, a former member of the Politburo Standing Committee. The Jiang faction has been planning this for a long time. However, it completely collapsed when Wang Lijun, the then director of the Chongqing Public Security Bureau, fled the US consulate.
Lin Biao fled, Zhou Enlai banned all airports from flying
Times commentator Chen Pokong also said that the flight change in China was like the crash of Lin Biao when he was forced to defect to the Soviet Union. “Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai designed it to force Lin Biao away,” he said. “At that time, the lights and airports across the country were turned off, so that Lin Biao’s plane had nowhere to land and had to fly north, so this history remains a mystery.”
On September 13, 1971, Lin Biao, the successor of Mao Zedong, who was determined by the CCP constitution, was killed by Wendur Khan in Mongolia, which became a major event in contemporary Chinese politics that shocked the world. Lin Biao, his wife Ye Qun and son Lin Liguo were killed, and their daughter Lin Liheng did not get on the plane.
The Epoch Times reported that at around 18:00 on September 12, Pan Jingyin, the pilot who led Lin Biao to flee, received an order to go to Beidaihe. At around 21:50, Lin Liheng reported to the Central Guard Corps of the Communist Party of China, saying that Ye Qun and Lin Liguo were going to coerce Lin Biao to leave. She asked Premier Zhou Enlai to prevent them from getting on the plane. Zhou agreed and immediately reported to Mao.
According to the book “Report on Tracking Past Events in Beidaihe,” published by the CCP, Zhou Enlai advised Mao Zedong to order a nationwide flight ban, and army troops stationed at airports in the name of preventing Soviet attacks and airborne landings, setting up obstacles to prevent all planes from taking off.
At 2:27 a.m. on September 13, the plane crashed in Mongolia, killing the three Lin family members in the wilderness. The CCP only announced Lin Biao’s death on October 24, more than a month after his death.
Why Lin Biao fled, the CCP official and the people have totally different opinions. The main view of the people at home and abroad is that the Lin Biao case was an unjust case, and it was Mao Zedong who first wanted to bring down Lin Biao, and Lin Biao was forced into a corner before he escaped passively under the coercion of his wife and son. His flight was political exile, not active treason.
The CCP official has not released the historical materials of that year, and the death of Lin Biao is still a mystery that cannot be solved.
Responsible editor: Lian Shuhua#