Inside China’s Secret War for Power

So right now China's top leadership is divided uh into three main factions right so I just described the process now I want to tell you about who are the major players on the battlefield and what are they fighting with and fighting about. So I want to give you a quick rundown of who they are what power they have they each hold and what weaknesses they have. So first you have the Xiinping's own camp which includes his family, his sister's brother and his closest inner circle. The biggest advantage for this camp is obvious. I mean she is still the head of the party, the state and the military. After 13 years in power, he's built an extensive network of loyal followers throughout the government. That's his strength, but his weaknesses are formidable. She faces serious challenges. is being blamed for China's many crisis, the economic downturn, domestic unrest, growing international isolation, and a deep loss of faith in the system. So, people have simply lost hope. And on top of that, Xiinping is politically haunted by two deaths. The first is the death of former premier Lee Kang who died two years ago. Lee held different views from Xiinping. He remained p popular even after retirement and then died suddenly and mysteriously. So Lee's death shook the confidence and loyalty of many party officials because people are saying if if this could happen to Lee then I'm nobody. It could happen to me as well. And the second death is the death of actor Alan Yu or Yumong whose strange and violent death sparked rumors of a death offering because we shared the same birthday as Xiinping. Many linked his death to she and his family's obsession with longevity both political and physical. So the story went viral and and the story refused to die and turned many young people against the regime calling the top leader pure evil. Okay, so that's camp number one. And then then cames the reformist faction made up of mostly of technocrats. What's special about this camp? Well, people like WA and their chos chosen successor Huna. Now, these officials uh have something in common. They all came from ordinary families and they all rose to power when Den Xiaoing promoted well-educated professionals instead of princlings. Since they lack red aristocratic bloodlines, they've had to rely on performance and integrity to survive. So, compared to others, they are relatively clean. No major scandals or corruption. Now, this group initially supported Xiinping, but at the 20th Party Congress, Xiinping wiped them clean. Huin Hua was kicked out of the poly bureau. Uh, Lie Kang and Wang were forced to retire. Huin Tao was publicly forced out of the meeting in front of all watchful eyes and soon after Li Kang died in retirement. So the reformists have the motivation the experience and public sympathy to challenge she but they lack something. They lack courage and remain bound by party rules and legal procedures. They're in another words they're being they they're terrified of being accused of bringing down the regime and that's their weakness. And finally, there is the military block led by these two uh General and retired General Liu Yan. They're both princings and they're not just ordinary princlings. Um they're princling heavyweights. Their strength lies in their princling status and the fact that they have taken control of the military regardless what people say. I mean just judging by the recent events, there's no question that Jang Yosha um is in control of the military. So in a system in which he who controls the gun controls the regime, uh this military block so far has been unchallenged in the PLA. However, their weakness is that they cannot afford to have Xiinping around as a ruler. To explain that, I'll just quickly give you the um the rivalry between Xi and J. Now they their families were close. They were friends going way back before his trouble started. Uh Jang had been a loyal supporter of Xiinping and even postponed his retirement to help she secure a third term at the 20th party congress only three years ago. However, after that she became paranoid about J's immense influence in the PLA and began sidelining John. And then J's downfall seemed inevitable. Now last summer during the third platinum when Xiinping reportedly suffered a health situation Jang struck back and the first person he called was his old friend and fellow princling General Leo Yuan. Together they formed an alliance and quickly and quietly took control of the military. Since then they've purged many many of Xiinping's loyalists including the highest ranking vice chairman of CMC Hi Dong. Now these moves amount to a kind of a soft military coup, not open rebellion, but a rebalancing of power. Now that said, the Janglu Alliance isn't looking to seize political power. Their goal is simply to push Xiinping out and steer the PLA back on track. Jang knows that as long as Xiinping stays in power, his own fate could end up like uh Progosian, right? the the the wagon chief who challenged Putin and died in a fiery crash. So this faction will do whatever it takes to remove Xiinping at the fourth plan because they have no way out. So the reformist faction and the military block both want Xiinping gone and have formed the backbone of the anti-shi camp but they don't agree on how Xiinping should step down. Hujint is the highest ranking living CCP leader or elder. Now he wants a peaceful power transition to preserve the regime. Xiinping of course refuses to step down. Jangia on the other hand just wants she out. Period. So that's the battlefield right now. So no matter which side wins, one thing is crystal clear. The military now holds the deciding power in China's internal struggle. is the ultimate lever that will determine who stays and who falls and that rests on the determination of Jang Yuang. Um it's still hard to tell who is winning. So the only official signals are CCP's media reports on the last day before the plenum. The military block did something earthshattering to give the Xiinping camp a stick warning and to prevent the party elders from being indecisive and too lenient. Jang took matters into his own hands. In an unprecedented move, the defense ministry announced that nine generals, all Xiinping loyalists, had been purged for serious political and economic problems. It was a political earthquake. Nine senior military leaders purged at once. Yet, state media, CCTV, CCTV did not even say anything. Did not even say a word about the military purge. Shinua and the People's Daily twisted the story to kind of mute the message to mute the message. Basically, the state media all sided with the Xiinping camp by by staying as muted as they could, showing clear division between the military and the party. Then after midnight on the eve of the platinum, Shinua suddenly published a lengthy editorial and the title is ensuring de decisive progress toward socialist modernization on the occasion of the 20th CCP central committee's fourth plenum. In this long editorial, it mentioned Xiinping's name 23 times. Every paragraph is about Xiinping. It praised him in over-the-top language that almost sounded funny. The editorial message can be sum summed up simply like this. Everything is good and everything is good because of Xiinping. Everything bad has nothing to do with him. That's basically what this long editorial was saying. And the phrase the party central committee with comrade Xiinping at its core appeared repeatedly throughout the piece as if to remind everyone who is still in charge. It called the past five year as economic miracle. Could you imagine that? Some people think it's a satirical work. Um, but many analysts see this as a signal, a strong signal that Xiinping still holds firm control and that the editorial was meant to set the tone for the entire platinum.