Swollen-Faced Xi Returns Amid Third Stroke Rumors: Peng Liyuan's Smile Masks the Storm!

Swollen-faced Xi resurfaces at Women's Summit as third-stroke rumors swirl. Peng Liyuan smiles to cover up the crisis. Shocking. Everyone rose but Xi stayed still. Song Zeyang's wedding. Scandal stuns. Beijing and exposes an era's decay. Dirt-cheap prices. Homes. Selling for just $1,380 as the real estate market free falls with no end in sight. Something terrible has happened. China's food prices crash. Meat is cheaper than hot pot. Farmers cry out. Who will save us? Herpes zoster cases surge across China. Alarming rise as younger adults increasingly affected. Welcome aboard today's episode of Decoding China, your trusted source for essential insights and timely analysis. Swollen-faced Xi resurfaces at Women's Summit as third-stroke rumors swirl. Peng Liyuan smiles to cover up the crisis. China's political stage erupted in speculation after President Xi Jinping made a rare public appearance on October 13, 2025 at the Global Women's Summit in Beijing, accompanied by his wife, Peng Liyuan. It was his first public appearance in two months, yet instead of projecting strength, the images broadcast across state and social media triggered alarm. Xi's face appeared swollen, his complexion gray, and his speech slow and halting. He looked frail, as if forcing himself to stand. The footage immediately reignited rumors that Xi had suffered a third stroke, with sources claiming he had been hospitalized earlier in October and was now appearing in public only to reassure the public and the party. The same day, reports began circulating that Cai Qi, director of the CCP general office and one of Xi's closest allies, might be replaced. Multiple insiders confirmed that Cai, reportedly overworked and ill, had already withdrawn from key responsibilities. Personnel inspections in Jiangxi province, led by senior official Shi Taifeng, were interpreted as preparations for his succession. Jiangxi Party Secretary Yin Hongji, known for his technocratic style and ties to Ding Xuexiang, was mentioned as the likely candidate. If the change is finalized before the upcoming fourth plenary session, it would signal that Xi's once-absolute grip on internal power is loosening and that the core of authority is beginning to shift away from him. Xi's attendance at the summit was meant to showcase continuity and control, but the optics told another story. His weakened state overshadowed the official theme of gender equality. During his address, Xi pledged an additional $10 million donation to UN Women, $100 million in development funds, and 1,000 new livelihood projects to support women and children worldwide. Yet online, many Chinese citizens mocked his speech as another example of lavish money diplomacy at a time when the domestic economy is faltering, local governments are running deficits, and unemployment is rising. Can we invite the chained woman too? One viral comment read, referring to the infamous Zhu Zhou case that continues to haunt the government's image. The contrast between the summit's rhetoric and China's reality remains glaring. In early 2022, a woman was discovered chained in a rural shed in Jiangsu, illegally confined and forced to bear eight children. The case, reported by major international outlets, became a symbol of systemic abuse and official neglect. Despite her global role as UNESCO's Envoy for Girls' and Women's Education, Peng Liyuan stayed silent. Her silence, seen by many as complicity, exposed the gulf between Beijing's official feminism and the dire condition of women's rights at home. That contradiction runs through China's recent history. Since 2018, the country's The Me Too movement has faced Social media accounts were erased, online discussions deleted, and activists detained. In 2021, journalist Huang Shuiqin and labor advocate Wang Jianbing were arrested and later sentenced in 2024 to five and three and a half years in prison for inciting subversion. Their punishment signaled Beijing's zero tolerance for independent feminist activism. Meanwhile, women's political representation has nearly vanished. The 2022 Party Congress produced a 24-member Politburo with no women for the first time in 25 years. Only six women have ever served in that body since 1949, and none have reached the standing committee. In 2023, Xi urged women to uphold family values and focus on child care and elder care, remarks seen as an attempt to push women back into domestic roles amid population decline rather than empower them politically. The result is a widening gap between Beijing's global narrative and domestic truth. While Xi and Peng present China as a champion of women's equality, the reality is starkly different. Women trafficked and silenced, activists criminalized, and female leaders erased from power. Xi's strained appearance at the summit, coupled with the potential shakeup of his closest allies, now stands as a vivid metaphor for a regime struggling to maintain control, one that still smiles for the cameras while its internal foundations quietly begin to crack. Shocking. Everyone rose but Xi stayed still. Song Ziying's wedding scandal stuns Beijing and exposes an era's decay. At a recent high-profile wedding, the entire room rose, except for her. Song Ziying, age 59, once powerful enough that Zhongnanhai's gates opened at her request and CCTV cameras bent to her favor, remained seated. When the host introduced her name, applause rang out. But she merely sat upright, clapped a few times, and never stood. Some branded her arrogant or audacious. Most understood the truth. Her patron had fallen, and now she lacked the power to hold herself upright. This episode maps onto a sweeping purge of Jiang Zemin's faction. Wang Qishan interrogated her. Xu Kaihu implicated her. Rumors now swirl that Beijing is reopening her case. How could a woman once commanding Zhongnanhai's doors no longer dare to stand at a wedding? The wedding was held at Beijing's Youyang International Ski Resort. The spectacle was lavish. The floral decorations alone cost $41,000, arranged so densely as to transform the grounds into a forest of blooms, with a red carpet extending from the parking lot to the entrance. Its guest list read like a gala. CCTV hosts and celebrities including Zhu Shimao, Bai Xue, Li Danyang, Man Wenjun, and Fu Yulong appeared. Song Zuying's presence turned it into a mini Spring Festival gala event. Footage reveals the contrast. In the front row, Zhu Shimao stood, clasped his hands, and greeted the audience warmly. When Song's name was called, people applauded. But she, dressed in black, stayed seated, offered brief claps, and did not rise. Online comment sections erupted with scorn. Even a washed-up star should at least observe basic manners. She's forgotten she no longer holds the influence to justify such posture. She's not being dignified. She's reminding everyone of her fall. Some defended her. Perhaps she didn't hear, or made a cautious choice. But the sharpest quip went, she's not rude. She's powerless to stand. At the height of Zhang's era, Song Zuying was untouchable. So why has her refusal to rise at a wedding become a symbol of her unraveling? Her rumored proximity to Zhang Zemin long fueled speculation. In 2009, at the Charm of China concert in Beijing's Bird's Nest, she wore a three-meter gown, dubbed Eye of the East, adorned with over 100 accessories. 100 artisans labored for months, using gems, rare metals, antiques, and natural wood, with 120 phoenixes theatrically pulling back a curtain for her opening act. Phoenix returns to the nest. She reigned over China's cultural stage. Known as the Queen of Folk Songs, she performed at Vienna's Golden Hall, the Sydney Opera House, and the Kennedy Center. Zhang's grand gesture for her? Commissioning the National Center for the Performing Arts, NCPA. Construction began in December 2001, costing $520 million. The scandal of Zhang and Song became infamous. But after Zhang's era ended, her star dimmed. From 1990 to 2013, she appeared at CCTV's Spring Festival Gala for 24 consecutive years. In 2014, she was absent and hasn't returned. The stages that once celebrated her now exclude her. She didn't just lose the spotlight, she lost her place. Investigations may seal her fate. According to Mother Tiger Song Zhuying, on May 9, 2004, Wang Qishan visited 301 hospital to interrogate Xu Kaihu, who confessed to funneling military funds to support Song's overseas concerts. Nine days later, CCDI officials detained Song, interrogating her at a secret facility in Beijing's Changping District. Wang personally questioned her on the misuse of military funds. Song admitted that Xu had allocated substantial sums via embassy staff. In a separate room, Xi Jinping watched the interrogation by camera. Since then, rumors persist of scrutiny by the CCDI and Military Discipline Commission over her alleged misuse of military and ministry of culture funds for solo concerts in Sydney, Vienna, and Washington. In 2024, some reports claimed Wu Jinping himself planned to target her. As the Zhang faction crumbles—Zeng Qinghong, Xu Qiliang, Miao Hua being dismantled—Song Zhuying appears next in line. Her name has come to symbolize that era's corruption, hypocrisy, and power-for-favor deals. A rare video circulated showing Song and Peng Liwan performing a skit, New Adventures of Migrant Workers. Young and radiant then, their lives diverged. Peng would become First Lady. Song, tied to old Jiang, stayed behind. After Jiang's death in November 2022, an era expired, not just his life. With him went the Red Mistresses. Song's presence vanished. No gala appearances, no national events, no photos. CCTV scrubbed her footage. Official sites erased her name. Her songs, once the soundtrack of power, are now silent. Recently, she appeared quietly at a 2023 ethnic opera at Tsinghua, dressed plainly and seated among the audience. During the 2024 Mid-Autumn Festival, she hosted a private Beijing dinner, smiling in muted photos. The woman who roamed Zhongnanhai now resides in a modest Bishanhuan apartment. Speculation abounds, under house arrest or preparing to emigrate. But no confirmation. Only silence. Song Zhuying, Peng Liwan, and Meng Ge once lived in the same compound, each a talented outsider, lacking elite Red Second Generation pedigree. Song's peak came via Jiang's favor. Meng married Li Shuangjiang. Peng married Xi Jinping. The insider says, they were neither friends nor enemies. Peng, discreet and cultured, navigated the political landscape better. Song, as Jiang's protege, lacked real political power. She was a puppet of influence, not a mover. Behind the stages, she sang power's tune. But ultimately, she became its silent footnote. Dirt cheap prices. Homes. Selling for just $1,380 as the real estate market free falls with no end in sight. China's real estate market is in free fall, signaling a profound economic downturn that's wiping out family wealth and reshaping the nation's future. What started as isolated bargains in remote cities like Haigang has exploded into a nationwide hegangization trend, where homes sell for pennies on the dollar, literally as low as $1,400 for an entire apartment. This crash reflects soaring unemployment, shrinking savings, and a population cliff, with at least 95 cities now offering properties at cabbage prices. Even powerhouse regions like Beijing, Tianjin, and the Pearl River Delta are encircled by these ghost zones, where houses once seen as golden investments now rot, unsold, potentially worthless in years to come. As one netizen put it, with aging accelerating and no buyers left, who's footing the bill for collapsed giants like Evergrande and Sunac? Ordinary families, that's who, trapped in a cycle where hesitation means total ruin. It all echoes a prophecy from years ago. Buying a house would one day be like picking up vegetables at the market. Fast forward less than 30 years, and it's reality. In Hegang, a 65 square meter, one-bedroom apartment on the top floor goes for just $1,400, the whole unit, not per square meter. That's about $21 per square meter, a price that leaves locals stunned. Step inside, a spacious south-facing living room, kitchen, bathroom, and bedroom, all in a brand new building. Nearby, Jixi City follows suit, with top floor units at between $400 or even $700, while lower floors hit $4,200 to $5,600. Rent, often free for months, or $350 annually. Unbelievable in a place where monthly wages hover at $140 to $280, enough for a simple life with meat on the table. Neighboring Shuangyashan amps up the shock. 60 square meter, two-bedroom homes with north-south views and winter heating for $1,260. Amenities abound. Supermarkets, clinics, buses, making these ideal for retirees. In Anshan, seventh floor units with large master bedrooms fetch $1,400, while first floor options climb to $5,600 to $7,000. Docking joins the frenzy. A 50 square meter, one-bedroom with balconies for $1,400. Layouts unchanged from pricier days. Prices have tumbled from $140,000 peaks to this abyss, leaving early buyers regretting millions lost. The ripple spread southward. In Suzhou, lifting sales restrictions unleashed 1,000 to 2,000 daily listings, pushing inventory near 180,000, none moving. Ready-to-live-in homes, $42,000 for a renovated one-bedroom. Shanghai's horror, 100 square meter pads near subway lines at $70,000 total, down from $420,000 to $560,000 buys just two years prior. One seller listed at $70,000 but got offers at $39,200. Guangzhou echoes a recent purchase from $406,000 to $210,000 in months, halving values nationwide back to 2015 levels. Yet some demand further drops to 2006 prices. Huizhou's empty towers have stood frozen since two years ago. New builds plummeting from 1,780 per square meter to 1,720. Buyers balk at loans amid cash crunches, turning hot properties into unsellable burdens. Rentals pile up too. Elsewhere, a 65-square-meter heated unit for $2,070 or top floors at $700, cheaper than Haigang. Seaview traps in once-hyped spots like Boss Chu's $22.4 billion island now rent for hundreds, deserted like ghost towns. The Hangzhou's future tech city, a 2019 buy at $840,000 now sells for $560,000, if lucky. Policies failed because sky-high prices were the root. Salaries crept from $140 to $530, while homes ballooned by hundreds of thousands. The market siphoned 50 years of wealth, birthing tycoons but dooming homeowners. Bay High's rotting projects, dozens abandoned for decades, symbolize the end. Guangdong's five Hegenguised cities like Sihui spell asset zero for families. Soon, third-tier duds may give away free. This isn't just a dip, it's a seismic shift, turning dreams to dust. Something terrible has happened. China's food prices crash. Meat is cheaper than hotpot. Farmers cry out, who will save us? Imagine the heartbreak of China's rural heartland, farmers toiling endlessly, only to watch their livelihoods crumble under crashing prices and imports. Beef that once fetched $0.84 per pound last year now stalls at $1.12, barely covering costs, while premium cuts hit just $0.54. Pork plummets to $0.69 per pound, forcing breeders to lose $40 per head on thousands of animals. Vegetables like choy sum die from $21 per unit in late September to a mere $4.20 to $5.60 today, leaving growers $4,900 in the red daily. This isn't just economics, it's a survival crisis. Families rely on these crops and livestock for school fees, weddings, medical bills, and basic sustenance. Yet, endless imports from east and west flood the market, undercutting local produce and smashing rice bowls. Why persist? Some farms scrape by on living expenses in lean years, fearing that quitting means losing land forever. One boom year could sustain them. Others are trapped in debt, rolling loans just to stay afloat, knowing stopping spells lifelong ruin. It's a vicious cycle. Plant more, lose more, raise anything. It flops. Who did these ordinary folks offend to deserve this? The storm rages on, both literally and figuratively. Don't rush. Maybe in eight to ten days the skies will clear. But this turmoil is massive, with waves of despair crashing hard. Middlemen exploit farmers relentlessly, chilling them to the core. Picture fields mired in mud and water, harvests yanked out and dumped at markets. Prime cauliflowers, pristine white, discarded wholesale at 0.03 per pound. Who wants them? Come quick, vendors cry, as another batch vanishes for pennies. Folks are stunned this year. Green onions of top quality, once 0.28 per meter, over 30 pounds. Now worthless, all tossed. Plant sparingly, and you might limit losses to $7,000 per plot. But abundance spells disaster. Chinese cabbage fares no better. $2.80 buys a full tricycle load. No limits. Pile it high, reeking of lost fortune. Eggplants stolen en masse highlight the desperation. One cent per pound for cabbage? Truly valueless. Even farmed crocodiles get fed pregnant cow calves, underscoring meat's dire straits. Slaughter a worthless cow, and its unborn becomes reptile fodder. Beef struggles to rise. From last year's low, it edged up briefly before freezing. What the hell? At $0.25 deals. Shady tactics abound. Ear tags rerouted to pig sties. Lamb at $1.68 with hundreds daily. All certified, yet unprofitable. Rural breeding? A joke. A pound of raw beef buys a spicy noodle bowl. Laughable. Imports today, imports tomorrow. Is local beef flavorless or tainted? No. But prices rot away. On October 14, 2025, Guizhou's wiling small cattle market buzzed with volume, but tanks in value. Not even a third sold amid panic cuts. Pork at $0.69. Green pepper stir-fry at $0.84. Mountains unsold. One breeder lost $49,000 in 10 days, ready to flee. Vegetables crashed since September 28. Choice sum units from $21 to $5.60 max. Costs at $10.50 mean 490 losses each. 1,000 shipped daily equals 4,900 gone. $49,000 in a week. No rebound in sight. Agriculture feels like legal gambling. Escape elusive. Olives at $0.11 per pound? A joke. Rejected thrice. Jiangnan market overflows with year of the ox stock. Beef or metaphor for glut. Slaughter specials at $1.39 per pound. Unsellable despite quality. Why farm amid ruin? Well-run operations endure small hits, staying seated at the table for that golden chance. Debt-laden ones can't quit without bankruptcy. Pork at $0.69. Sell or hemorrhage more on 5,000 heads. Upstream suppliers feed meds face doom too. Calves at $28 each. 40-60 pounds. Popcorn, soybeans, cattle, sheep, pigs. All failures. Farmers beg. Pause imports for two years. Let us breathe. Ease the famine. Coconut mangoes dumped. Pity. But selling loses more. Ice sugar grapes returned unsold. Veggies like free cilantro. Situations heating up. Total collapse. Chickens at $0.52. Eggs $0-16 for 45 pounds. Lose-lose wars over dominance. Garbage overflows with waste. Specials. Pork cuts at $0.84. Belly at $1.12. This is rural agony. Stop the flood. Save the soul. Herpes zoster cases surge across China. Alarming rise as younger adults increasingly affected. China is facing a shocking surge in herpes zoster, the excruciating viral skin disease dubbed snake-wrapped around the waist, or the cancer that doesn't die. As autumn chills set in, cases are skyrocketing, especially among those over 50. But alarmingly, younger people are increasingly affected, too. Experts warn that low immunity, fatigue from late nights, and even COVID-19 infections or vaccines could be fueling this rise, turning a once-rare ailment into a widespread nightmare. Patients endure knife-like, burning pain that lingers for months or years as postherpetic neuralgia with no easy cure, making early treatment crucial to avoid lifelong agony. This trend isn't just statistics. It's a public health crisis unfolding in real time. Back in February 2023, Shanxi Provincial People's Hospital highlighted a case of an 80-year-old woman whose shoulder rash healed, but the neuralgia persisted despite painkillers and nerve drugs, underscoring how the disease's complexity has worsened. Doctors noted outpatient numbers climbing compared to previous years, with many patients delaying care by visiting wrong departments, missing the golden treatment window. By June 2023, celebrities brought the issue into the spotlight. Singer Tsai Kuo-ching revealed on June 14, 2025, that he battled acute herpes zoster during a variety show recording, powering through severe pain to finish filming. Just two weeks later, on June 28, Na Ying appeared on stage with a veil hiding half her face after the virus struck her eyes and face, describing the torment as so annoying and far from typical back or arm outbreaks. Media reports amplified the concerns. On June 15, Chongqing Morning Post covered Ke's story, while Global Network detailed Na's ordeal on June 30. China Newsweek on June 17 reported young netizens linking outbreaks to post-COVID recovery, with Beijing Hospital's dermatology professor confirming a spike during the pandemic, mainly in middle-aged and elderly groups, but also after first-time infections. Statistics paint a grim picture. About 1.56 million over-50s in China get herpes zoster yearly, per the paper. China-Japan Friendship Hospital's pain director observed a youthward shift, urging vigilance as the virus reactivated in those with weakened defenses. Netizens' stories flood social media, revealing raw suffering. From Shanghai, hospitals are packed, half the IV patients have it. Beijing users ask, why so many cases? Personal tales include sleepless nights, 15-day lingering pain, elderly severity like one mom's ordeal, and back-wide eruptions feeling like death. Some claim contagion. A user got it after their mom visited a friend with the virus, recurring four times yearly. Another endured five years of symptoms. Public suspicion grows toward COVID-19 vaccines. A September 14 douyin post-questioned the young demographic and sequential outbreaks as vaccine after-effects. Online forums echo more cases from shots in 2024, labeling side effects as diseases, with boosters worsening issues. Ex-comments tie symptoms like fatigue, rashes, and herpes zoster to long COVID or vaccines, even comparing it to AIDS, blaming vaccine disaster. As October 12's Global Times report confirms peak season, Lin Zhengmao from Peking University First Hospital stresses age, immunity, and overwork as triggers, with young cases rising in high alarm. Value your perspective. Feel free to share your thoughts in the comment section. If you found this video informative, we encourage you to share it with others. Your support helps us continue delivering compelling, fact-based reporting. Don't forget to like and subscribe for more in-depth coverage from Decoding China. Thank you for watching.