[Epoch Times, August 28, 2021]On August 23, Xi Jinping started an investigation in Hebei. On the first day of the visit to the Saihanba Mechanical Forest Farm, Xinhua News Agency issued eight reports, which seemed extremely unusual. According to the logic here, Xi Jinping’s inspection in Chengde the next day will include a big book, including the final report after the inspection, which should be the highlight, pushing the enthusiasm for Xi Jinping to a climax. In fact, on the contrary, Xi Jinping’s Hebei inspection seems to have ended hurriedly, and party media reports are anticlimactic.
Judging from other reports by the party media, the sudden change of the 20th major position war disrupted the original propaganda plan of the Xi Jinping camp, and had to temporarily adjust and respond to it. It once again showed that the personnel dispute at the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China has no party within the CCP. Failed to truly establish an advantage.
The CCP never announces the specific itinerary of the CCP’s senior officials in advance, and basically reports it after the fact. The same is true for Xi Jinping’s visit to Hebei. On August 23, Xi Jinping inspected the Saihanba Mechanical Forest Farm; on August 24, Xi Jinping inspected Chengde; after that, he did not see reports on his visit to Shijiazhuang, the capital of Hebei Province, nor did he see Xi Jinping listening to reports from the Hebei Provincial Party Committee and the Provincial Government. The Hebei expedition seems to be over.
At 20:16:31 in the evening of August 24, Xinhua News Agency reported that “Xi Jinping’s Investigation and Research in Chengde City” contained only two sentences and a few pictures.
At 08:47:23 in the morning of August 25, Xinhua News Agency reported, “The First Perspective: Elderly Care Services, the General Secretary’s Concern”, which reported on the details of Xi Jinping’s inspection of an elderly care service center in Chengde City on August 24.
At 21:34:37 in the evening of August 26, Xinhua News Agency reported that “More than 1.4 billion Chinese people twisted into a single strand and persevered on the road of socialism with Chinese characteristics”-General Secretary Xi Jinping inspected Chengde, Hebei. This report should be regarded as the closing report of Xi Jinping’s investigation in Hebei, and there will be no more after that.
On August 27, Xinhua News Agency continuously reported that “Xi Jinping talks with Philippine President Duterte on the phone”, “Xi Jinping talks with Malawi President Chuckvila on the phone”, “Xi Jinping talks with Portuguese President De Sousa on the phone”.
According to this schedule, Xi Jinping left Hebei at least on August 26, or August 25. It seems that he did not visit Shijiazhuang, nor did he meet or give instructions with the leadership of Hebei Province.
Has Xi Jinping returned to Beijing?
On August 27, Xinhua News Agency reported that Xi Jinping was talking with the leaders of the Philippines, Malawi, and Portugal, but did not describe whether the call was made in Beijing.
In the report on the call between Xi Jinping and the leaders of the Philippines and Malawi, although the CCTV video is attached, only the announcer reads the manuscript; the call with the Portuguese leader is currently only the text manuscript.
These three reports show that the call seems to be just a phone call, not a video call. Usually when Xi Jinping makes a video call, he will face a huge screen in a large conference hall in the Great Hall of the People. Some subordinates are also present. The other heads of state on the other side of the call are usually in an office or a small conference room. Distinct.
The Philippine government released a short video of the call. The left side of the screen shows part of the speech of Philippine President Duterte, and the right side only shows a picture of Xi Jinping’s voice. There are reports that the call lasted 45 minutes.
The Portuguese government’s statement contains only two sentences. Malawi is a landlocked country in Africa with a population of 18.4 million. No relevant statement has been seen so far.
Xi Jinping’s three phone calls in a day are more like calls for the sake of a conversation. It is estimated that there is no time to talk about specific matters. Together with the time for mutual translation, it is estimated that they are more greetings and symbolic. The reports of the Chinese Communist Party media are basically all. It’s a cliché, without substantive content. The call at this time is still trying to prove that the CCP is not isolated by the world and that Xi Jinping can continue the diplomacy of the head of state, mainly for the party.
Xi Jinping may have ended his Hebei expedition ahead of schedule, or he may not have returned to Beijing. He does not rule out going to a place he thinks is safer. The rumors of Wang Yang’s succession seem to have had a great impact on Xi Jinping’s camp.
Five reports from Xinhua News Agency praise Xi Jinping’s national work
After Wang Yang participated in the 70th anniversary event in Tibet, rumors of succession arose suddenly, with different opinions from the outside world, and more inclined to be unlikely, but the impact on Xi Jinping’s camp was beyond people’s imagination.
Beginning on August 25, Xinhua News Agency suddenly began to reduce Xi Jinping’s Hebei investigation report, and switched to a big book on Xi Jinping and ethnic work.
At 21:09:27 in the evening of August 25, Xinhua News Agency reported, “Long Picture: These Letters to the People of All Ethnic Groups Are Full of the General Secretary’s Affectionate Concerns.”
At 18:05:24 in the evening of August 26th, Xinhua News Agency reported, “Singing the strong voice of the era that firmly casts the consciousness of the Chinese nation’s community-the party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping as the core leads the innovation and development of national work in the new era.”
At 20:23:33 in the evening of August 26, Xinhua News Agency reported that “The National Treasures When Learning Is in Progress, Xi Jinping cherishes very much.”
At 09:00:32 am on August 27th, Xinhua News Agency reported again, “Study in Progress: The “Community of the Chinese Nation” in Xi Jinping’s Heart.”
At 17:35:52 in the evening of August 27, Xinhua News Agency continued to report, “5 Stories, Feeling the Deep Friendship between the General Secretary and the People of All Ethnic Groups.”
At 14:14:31 on the same day, CCTV also reported that “Xi Jinping requires a firm grasp of this thread to do a good job in ethnic work in the new era.”
This series of reports on ethnic work completely overwhelmed the reports of Xi Jinping’s Hebei investigation. In other words, the Xi Jinping camp was forced to change the direction of propaganda to deal with the impact of Wang Yang’s participation in Tibet activities, especially the rumors of succession to the general secretary.
Is Xi Jinping’s camp messed up?
The above-mentioned unusual reveals that Xi Jinping’s camp did not expect the opponent to make such a big move. In addition to Wang Yang’s rumors, there are probably other inside stories that people don’t know about. Xi Jinping’s camp was caught off guard and even a little confused. He hurriedly tried to eliminate the adverse effects and dramatized the personnel dispute at the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China.
After the Beidaihe meeting, on August 17, Xi Jinping presided over a meeting of the Finance and Economics Committee and revealed the ultimate move of “property redistribution”; however, the report of the meeting paradoxically stated that “allow some people to get rich first.” This roughly indicates the continuation of the Beidaihe Conference dispute, and Wang Yang’s exceptional attendance at that time may also be related to this.
Xi Jinping’s camp should not have been able to gain an overwhelming advantage, so it is prepared to continue to attack the “rich”. In fact, it is mainly aimed at the white gloves of the Chinese Communist Party’s powerful people. Former and current senior officials submit.
On August 18th, Li Keqiang appeared in Henan to strictly demand accountability for the flood accident. The Secretary of the Henan Provincial Party Committee and the Secretary of the Zhengzhou Municipal Party Committee of the Xi’s camp were in jeopardy.
On August 19, after Wang Yang participated in the Tibet celebration, rumors of succession spread and intensified. After Xi Jinping started his Hebei inspection on August 23, he might feel bad. He quickly responded. The propaganda outlet immediately turned to ethnic work. The Hebei inspection may be forced to end early. Xi Jinping may also feel that his safety is threatened.
On August 27th, Xinhuanet reported on the homepage “my country’s epidemic is effectively controlled, these people can be vaccinated”. After clicking on the article, the actual title is “What are the prevention and control requirements for the beginning of the school season?” Who can carry out booster vaccination? How to deal with the delta strain in autumn and winter? The State Council’s Joint Prevention and Control Mechanism has responded.”
Xinhua News Agency quoted Mi Feng, a spokesman for the National Health Commission of the Communist Party of China, saying that “this round of epidemic has been effectively controlled” and replaced it with the title of the website’s homepage, which should also be a deliberate promotion of the Xi camp trying to control the situation. The current overall situation does not seem very good for Xi Jinping.
The biggest resistance may come from the current Politburo Standing Committee
According to the planning of the Xi Jinping camp, in the personnel arrangement of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the current Politburo Standing Committee member should only be Xi Jinping remaining, and then he will be replaced by members of the Xi camp as much as possible. It now appears that this calculation may have encountered strong resistance.
Wang Yang, who has been the most aggressive in recent days, was born in 1955 and will be 67 next year. It is understandable that he will be the chairman of the CPPCC for another term. He will be 72 years old by 2027. His predecessor, Yu Zhengsheng, was 72 when he retired in 2017; Jia Qinglin, the predecessor, served as chairman of the CPPCC for two terms under Hu Jintao’s tenure, and he was also 72 when he retired in 2012. As usual, Wang Yang could be re-elected as chairman of the CPPCC and stay as a member of the Politburo Standing Committee.
Li Keqiang, born in 1955, will be 67 next year. After serving as Premier of the State Council for two terms, he must step down, but he can be transferred to the chairman of the National People’s Congress. Li Zhanshu was born in 1950. He will be 72 years old next year and can only retire. His predecessor, Zhang Dejiang, was 70 when he retired in 2017; Wu Bangguo, the predecessor, served as chairman of the National People’s Congress for two terms during Hu Jintao’s tenure. He ranked second among the Politburo Standing Committee members and was 71 when he retired in 2012. Li Keqiang can take over as chairman of the National People’s Congress and stay as a member of the Politburo Standing Committee, still ranking second.
After being re-elected for two consecutive terms, the former prime minister of the Chinese Communist Party Li Peng was transferred to the post of chairman of the National People’s Congress and remained as a member of the Politburo Standing Committee, ranking second.
Both Wang Yang and Li Keqiang conform to the “seven ups and eight downs” rule. It is difficult for Xi Jinping to find a suitable reason for the two to retire directly; Xi Jinping’s hardcore Li Zhanshu has no reason to be re-elected. The chances of Wang Huning, Zhao Leji, and Han Zheng staying in office are much smaller.
Han Zheng was born in 1954 and will be 68 next year. There is no possibility of taking over as prime minister. Wang Huning was born in 1955. He has reached the top of his propaganda. He can neither take over the prime minister, nor have the qualifications as Li Keqiang and Wang Yang. He has no chance to take over as chairman of the National People’s Congress or chairman of the CPPCC. He may be able to arrange a deputy post; he does not rule out the need to fight for it, but it’s nothing big. capital. The only variable is probably Zhao Leji, born in 1957, 65 years old next year, with a little age advantage, it is estimated that he will not easily give up staying.
If Zhao Leji teamed up with Li Keqiang and Wang Yang, or both Li Keqiang and Wang Yang, and Xi Jinping had to be re-elected, it seemed that there would be no way for these two or three to retire directly. Xi Jinping was born in 1953 and will be 69 next year, so he should retire from office. If Xi Jinping wants to be re-elected, he should not easily fall out with these three people, and he has to reach some kind of compromise with these two or three people, and he may risk getting one person to beat the other.
If Xi Jinping is re-elected, can his family be the only one?
If Xi Jinping can really be re-elected, Li Keqiang and Wang Yang will have even more reasons to stay as members of the Politburo Standing Committee. Zhao Leji may also have the opportunity. Tricky. It is not ruled out that the Seventh Standing Committee will be changed back to the Ninth Standing Committee. Xi Jinping will squeeze in his own people as much as possible to obtain a majority seat on the Standing Committee, but other factions will not give up the fight.
Judging from the current situation, even if Xi Jinping can be re-elected, it seems that he will not gain more power than he has now. Xi Jinping has taken control of key departments such as the military, politics and law, national security, discipline inspection commission, and the Central Security Bureau; the propaganda portal is not 100% controlled, and the 20th National Congress of the People’s Republic of China may actually be replaced by his own people.
Xi Jinping’s first candidate for the Standing Committee should be the current Director of the General Office of the Central Committee and Secretary of the Secretariat Ding Xuexiang, born in 1962. The current Organization Minister Chen Xi was born in 1953 and has the opportunity to be promoted to the Standing Committee. Among other local officials, Cai Qi, secretary of the Beijing Municipal Party Committee, was born in 1955 and should have the opportunity; Li Qiang, secretary of the Shanghai Municipal Party Committee, was born in 1959, which has more opportunities; Chen Miner, secretary of the Chongqing Municipal Party Committee, was born in 1960, and the opportunity should not be small; and Li Xi, secretary of the Guangdong Provincial Party Committee, was born in 1956. , The chance is second; there may be dark horses in other provinces.
If Xi Jinping can be re-elected, Li Keqiang, Wang Yang, and Zhao Leji may also remain members of the Politburo Standing Committee. The competition for the remaining candidates will be fierce, and it should not have really started yet. Whether Xi Jinping can confirm his re-election is the real focus at present, and a chaotic battle is probably inevitable.
——The Epoch Times debut
Editor in charge: Gao Yi#
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