2024-03-12 23:59:14
On March 11, 2024, (front row from left to right) Xi Jinping, Li Qiang, and Cai Qi at the closing ceremony of the National People’s Congress of the Communist Party of China. (Jade Gao/AFP via Getty Images)
[The Epoch Times, March 12, 2024](Epoch Times reporters Cheng Jing and Luo Ya interviewed and reported) The National People’s Congress and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (two sessions) of the Communist Party of China concluded recently. The outside world has noticed that during this year’s two sessions, emergencies occurred frequently and undercurrents surged. Experts analyze that Xi Jinping, the leader of the Communist Party of China, appears to have great power, but he faces various conflicts and challenges. What is not mentioned in the Two Sessions is of great significance. Among them, the four most bizarre things highlight that Xi Jinping is a lonely man and is surrounded by dangers.
Why did Li Qiang cut back on his “appearance” opportunities?
On Tuesday (12th), Reuters reported that Chinese Premier Li Qiang will not host a symposium with heads of foreign companies at the China Development Forum at the end of March. Since 2000, Beijing has organized and held high-level China Development Forum every year at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse.
This is an opportunity for the heads of major global companies to meet with Chinese Communist Party policymakers to discuss foreign investment. Representatives of foreign companies who often attend include Apple President Cook, Bridgewater Associates President Ray Dalio, etc.
But three sources told Reuters that although Li Qiang still plans to attend the forum on March 24-25 this year, he will not host the symposium.
Previously, Lou Qinjian, spokesperson of the National People’s Congress, announced before the opening of the two sessions that the Prime Minister’s press conference will not be held as usual after this year’s National People’s Congress, and it will not be held in the next few years of this National People’s Congress, breaking a 30-year tradition. But no reason was given.
Wang He, an expert on China issues, analyzed in The Epoch Times on the 12th that the biggest highlight of the two sessions is that Li Qiang, the State Council, has been reduced in power. This time the Two Sessions also passed the revision of the Organic Law of the State Council, which means that the entire State Council has changed from a parallel structure of the Party Central Committee and the State Council in the past to an executive agency of the Party Central Committee.
He said that the CCP is originally a party-state, but in the past there was a division of labor between the party and the government for the sake of efficiency of governance. However, Xi Jinping believes that it is impossible for the party and the government to divide labor and families, otherwise the party’s power will be lost. Therefore, Xi Jinping now wants to restructure the political structure of the CCP, to make the party rule over everything, and to turn the State Council into an executive agency of the Party Central Committee.
Unexpected incidents frequently occurred during the two sessions
At present, Xi Jinping has sole power and the CCP is highly centralized. Wang He believes that politics has reached an unprecedented degree of rigidity. Under such circumstances, it will cause a huge backlash.
“Everyone doesn’t say it on the surface, but they are very disgusted in their hearts. The anti-Xi movement within the CCP has now reached a climax. On the surface, this meeting was held in a lifeless manner, and Poland was calm and stable. In fact, there is an undercurrent.”
Chaos occurred frequently during the two sessions. On March 10, a video of a car crashing into Xinhua Gate in Zhongnanhai broke out on the Internet. The video shows a black car parked near Xinhua Gate. Several security personnel dragged the driver out and quickly ran away from Xinhua Gate. Several people also got on the car to search. In the video, someone shouted “Murderous Communist Party” and so on.
This incident sparked heated discussions on the social media platform
On March 7, a fire broke out in the Jiangsu Provincial Public Security Department building at No. 1 Yangzhou Road, Nanjing, with thick smoke rising from the top floor. Netizens on the overseas X platform commented: “Finally the right place was burned” and “very happy”.
On the same day, another explosion occurred in the Zhangjiagang Municipal Government Building in Jiangsu Province. Multiple pictures from the scene showed a large cloud of white smoke rising from the foyer of the government building. The glass and door frame in the foyer of the building were severely damaged, and there was a deformed LPG cylinder outside the foyer.
A photo of a flyer signed by “Yuan Jianhong” was circulated on the Internet: “I am the one who bombed the Zhangjiagang City Government. I demand that corrupt officials be punished and return my factory, private house and other unequal treatment. I am waiting to surrender.” The signature is his name and ID number.
On March 6, at a press conference of the National People’s Congress of the Communist Party of China, a woman in a gray suit sitting in the front row suddenly rushed to the podium, but was quickly stopped by several men in suits next to her.
Some netizens said, “Supposedly, the first row is all staff or reporters of party media that you trust, right? What happened?” “Those reporters turned out to be security personnel, how could they respond so quickly?”
On the day the two sessions ended (March 11), major accidents such as factory explosions occurred in at least four provinces: Hubei, Hunan, Anhui, and Shanxi, killing at least 14 people.
Wang He said that things like these may express the dissatisfaction of many forces, that is, China’s current situation is precarious and may collapse at any time.
Taiwan’s general economist Wu Jialong also told The Epoch Times on the 12th that the phenomena seen since March are all challenging the authority of the CCP’s party and government institutions. “This is to truly understand what kind of situation the Communist Party is facing now.”
What is not mentioned in the two sessions is meaningful. Behind the “Four Biggest”
The Two Sessions concluded on Monday (11th). The Wall Street Journal said that what is not spoken is meaningful. As Chinese officials avoid tough issues during the two sessions, the gap between what the Chinese government says and reality is widening.
The article said that while Beijing is promising openness and transparency, it is also tightening control over the media; officials are celebrating the prospects of economic development while downplaying the dangers they face; while Xi Jinping is concentrating power, the National People’s Congress calls its voting process democratic .
the biggest secret
The biggest secret of the two sessions is to avoid talking about the “disappearance of senior officials” incident.
At last year’s conference, the then Foreign Minister Qin Gang spoke eloquently surrounded by many reporters. Qin Gang disappeared three months later, but the CCP has not explained why Qin Gang was dismissed, and his whereabouts are still unknown.
Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who was re-elected this year, held a press conference and continued the Wolf Warrior style, criticizing the United States for its suppression and the continuous extension of the unilateral sanctions list, saying that “the attempt to impose crimes has reached an incredible level” and so on.
The outside world originally speculated that the CCP might announce the candidate for the new foreign minister during the two sessions, or announce the whereabouts of Qin Gang, but there was no hint. The nature of the CCP’s underworld gangs is increasingly revealed.
The biggest cover-up
The biggest cover-up of the two sessions is that they do not talk about economic difficulties, but advocate unintelligible “new productive forces.”
How to solve various existing problems in China’s economy is expected to be discussed at the National People’s Congress meeting or make more specific policy announcements. However, the government work report released by Li Qiang on the 5th barely mentioned the biggest problems facing the Chinese economy, including the real estate crisis, sluggish consumption, soaring debt, shrinking population, deteriorating relations with some of its largest trading partners, etc.
“Nikkei Asia” said that there are almost no surprises in China’s economic policies during the two sessions, including setting an economic growth target of about 5% this year, the same as last year.
After Li Qiang released the government work report, the stock market plummeted. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index, which mainly consists of blue-chip stocks in mainland China, fell 2.6%. Redmond Wong, market analyst for Greater China at Saxo Financial in Hong Kong, said the market was selling off stocks in the absence of positive surprises.
However, at this year’s Two Sessions, “new productivity” has become one of the hot topics. Nils Grünberg of the Mercator China Research Center in Berlin pointed out to DW that it is actually about improving production efficiency. But increasing government intervention in the economy and research and development will reduce productivity. This has left officials confused as to “what Beijing really wants.”
The greatest feature
The biggest feature of the Two Sessions is that “supporting practices has become a common practice.”
In Li Qiang’s first government work report, Xi Jinping’s name was mentioned 16 times, and China’s achievements in the past year were “completely” attributed to “General Secretary Xi Jinping’s leadership and helm.” This is just one example of officials’ growing adulation of Xi.
Senior CCP officials across the country have also publicly expressed their loyalty, including at meetings of provincial delegations.
Zheng Shajie, director of the National Development and Reform Commission of the Communist Party of China, said, “We firmly believe that under the strong leadership of the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at the core,” “we have the confidence, ability, conditions, and confidence to promote a sustained economic recovery and long-term improvement.” Such statements abound.
But does Xi Jinping believe them? Wang He believes, “Currently, in Xi Jinping’s eyes, everyone around him is two-faced, and no one can be trusted.” Since last year, he has eliminated many of his cronies who he personally promoted.
The tightest security
In addition, with the enthusiasm of officials, are the two sessions safe? The CCP has deployed the strictest security measures for this year’s two sessions.
“Nikkei Asia” reported that during the two sessions, Beijing appeared calm, but it mobilized about 800,000 police, armed police and citizen volunteers to “maintain order.”
The reporter of this newspaper experienced first-hand the strict security measures. When entering the subway, you have to check your identity, go through X-ray inspection of your luggage, and undergo a physical examination.
The reporter tried to enter Tiananmen Square with an officially issued press card, but the security guard at the entrance had to check the passport and press card, and took out all the items from the reporter’s backpack to check carefully, even a fluorescent pen, a blank notebook, or Flip through the pages of my personal diary. But still got turned away.
Two elderly people who came to Beijing as tourists were also rejected because they did not make reservations through WeChat.
Xi Jinping has become a loner and is surrounded by dangers
Wang He believes that the CCP regime is currently having a hard time operating. The entire society is full of problems and all kinds of contradictions have emerged. Xi Jinping wants to shoulder this burden and is willing to be the scapegoat. Then he must bear the responsibility for all consequences and disasters. He is willing to jump into this fire pit.
Wang He also said that on the surface, all current high-ranking official positions have been occupied by the Xi family army, and all other factions have been wiped out. But in fact, the factions within the CCP are deep-rooted and intertwined. There is only such a difference between those who are in office and those who are not.
He said that there is the biggest constraint here. Xi Jinping is proposing a set of governance concepts. Is it feasible? How feasible is it? During the implementation process, are people at the lower levels willing to implement it? In other words, if there are policies at the top and countermeasures at the bottom, will there be soft resistance and a lie down? Problems like these cannot be controlled by Xi Jinping and cannot be eliminated.
“Xi’s actions have aroused resentment within the party, and he has become a loner and a target of public criticism. Therefore, he faces institutional soft resistance, and officials generally remain passive. Although some policies have been introduced, they are in a state of idleness.”
Wang He believes that since Xi Jinping came to power, he has been hitting hard with an anti-corruption stick, engaged in anti-formalism and anti-bureaucracy, and has been calling for learning and thematic education, just because the people below him cannot deal with him and have two minds. So this is the biggest obstacle to Xi Jinping’s current governance.
He said that Xi Jinping and officials are currently “in a state of mutual suspicion, mutual obstruction, mutual testing, and mutual confrontation. Everyone is looking for opportunities to break the situation.” “This is the danger of the current political situation in China.”
Editor in charge: Fang Xiayan#
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