Is Chinese President Xi Facing Widespread Opposition With The Communist Party?

Chinese President Xi Jinping gives his epic speech to the 19th National Congress. Photo: Reuters

Daily Mail: President Xi Jinping is facing widespread opposition within his Communist Party and leading China into 'disaster', insider claims

* Cai Xia, a retired Chinese professor of politics, criticised the nation's leader
* She claimed discontent within the ruling Communist Party was widespread
* It came after Ms Cai was expelled from the party due to a leaked recording
* She allegedly called Xi a 'mafia boss' and his party a 'political zombie' in it

A retired Chinese professor of the country's top political school has revealed that President Xi Jinping is facing widespread opposition within his own party.

Cai Xia, who had taught democratic politics at the Central Party School of the Chinese Communist Party, also accused President Xi of 'killing a country' and leading China into 'disaster' in an interview with the Guardian.

Ms Cai made the remarks after being expelled from the Chinese Communist Party for allegedly calling President Xi a 'mafia boss' and his party a 'political zombie'.

Speaking to the Guardian, Ms Cai claimed that many wanted to leave the ruling party due to sweeping discontent.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: Regular readers of this blog know that for the past few years I have been putting up posts explaining the growing dissent within China's political/economic establishment against the rule of Xi Jinping. What Cai Xia is saying in the above post does not surprise me. But here is an easy prediction .... nothing is going to change. President Xi is maintaining an iron grip, and IMHO his position is secure. More to the point. The security apparatus is loyal to him, and I do not see that changing anytime soon. But within the Communist Party itself, I can say with confidence that absolute loyalty to President Xi is not there. Certainly not among the many people that I know in China.

More News On Reports That Chinese President Xi Is Facing Widespread Opposition With The Communist Party

China's Xi Jinping facing widespread opposition in his own party, insider claims -- The Guardian
'He killed a party and a country': a Chinese insider hits out at Xi Jinping -- The Guardian
Cai Xia Was A Communist Party Insider in China. Then She Denounced Xi. -- NYT
China’s Xi Jinping Tightens Grip on Domestic Security Forces in First Broad Purge -- WSJ
Expelled Chinese Communist Party Insider Details Internal Tensions in VOA Interview -- VOA
CPC expels Xi’s critic, who accused him of provoking conflict with India to divert attention -- The Tribune
Who Is Cai Xia? Ex-CCP Member Claims China Never Released Actual Covid-19 Death Toll -- IBTimes
Communist Party dissenter says Xi Jinping 'killing China,' country 'sliding towards disaster' -- National Post

Hubei Residents Riot On Border Of Jiangxi Province In Central China After Quarantine Lifted

SCMP: Coronavirus: police, public clash as border reopens between Hubei and Jiangxi provinces

* After weeks of living under lockdown, people in most parts of Hubei were told this week they could finally leave, but authorities in neighbouring regions remain cautious
* Dispute on bridge between Huangmei and Jiujiang that saw police vans overturned, apparently started because of confusion over jurisdictions

Chinese police officers from two different forces clashed with each other and members of the public on Friday in a dispute over the reopening of a provincial border, following weeks of lockdown to prevent the spread of Covid-19.

According to local government reports, the incident happened on the 1st Yangtze River Bridge that separates Huangmei county in Hubei – the province at the epicentre of the initial coronavirus outbreak – with the city of Jiujiang in Jiangxi.

In local media reports, witnesses were quoted as saying that police in Jiujiang set up a blockade on the bridge to stop people from Hubei crossing.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: The Twitter page Things China Doesn't Want You To Know has a lot of videos on what happened at this border crossing.

More News On Hubei Residents Rioting On The Border Of Jiangxi Province In Central China After The Quarantine Was Lifted

Violence erupts in China as people try to leave coronavirus-stricken Hubei province -- The Globe and Mail
Fighting erupts at Chinese bridge between Hubei, Jiangxi provinces -- UPI
Coronavirus riots erupt near Wuhan as locals leave quarantine only to be told they can’t travel anywhere else in China -- The SUN
Thousands Turn Out in Melee on Bridge Linking Hubei, Jiangxi as Lockdown Eases -- Radio Free Asia
Riot Breaks Out in China as People Try to Leave Virus-Hit Hubei -- Epoch Times
Dozens Clash on Hubei Border After China Lifts Virus Quarantine -- Bloomberg
Hubei Residents Riot After Quarantine Lifted; Police Beaten With Their Own Shield, Cop Cars Overturned -- Zero Hedge

Are Hong Kong's Protests Spreading Into China?

【广东茂名示威防暴警出动镇压】
2019年11月28日，广东茂名化州市文楼镇，因为居民反对兴建殡仪馆和火葬场，爆发大规模示威。当局派出大批防暴警察镇压，出动装甲车，施放催泪弹驱散示威者，双方发生冲突，网民拍摄的视频显示，有警察围殴民众，并在地上拖行，多名村民受伤，据说警察曾开枪示警。 pic.twitter.com/WgabYfuS4O

— 自由亚洲电台 (@RFA_Chinese) November 29, 2019

The Guardian: Chinese riot police fire teargas and beat up protesters in Guangdong province

Hundreds of residents in Wenlou township were protesting against construction of large crematorium

Riot police have fired teargas and beaten residents in southern China after they took to the streets to protest against a local construction project.

Hundreds of residents in Wenlou, a township in Guangdong province about 60 miles from Hong Kong, protested on Friday against plans for a large crematorium in an area officials had previously said would become an “ecological park”.

Footage recorded by residents appeared to show riot police firing teargas, throwing rocks and beating protesters. Videos also showed residents throwing firecrackers at the police and tipping over a car. One protester was seen holding a sign that read “The people of Wenlou do not agree”.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: This is Beijing's worst nightmare. Here is a good summary on these protests .... Chicom Nightmare: Hong Kong protests spread to gigantic Guangdong province (American Interest).

Here's What The Chinese Government Does To Its Citizens Who Speak Out Against Them

Surveillance cameras in front of a giant portrait of Mao Zedong in Beijing's Tiananmen Square in 2009. Jason Lee/Reuters

Business Insider: Barging into your home, threatening your family, or making you disappear: Here's what China does to people who speak out against them

The Chinese Communist Party has long sought to suppress ideas that could undermine the sweeping authority it has over its 1.4 billion citizens — and the state can go to extreme lengths to maintain its grip.

In just the past few years, the government has attempted to muzzle critics by making them disappear without a trace, ordering people to physically barge into their houses, or locking up those close to critics as a kind of blackmail.

Even leaving China isn't always enough. The state has continued to clamp down on dissent by harassing and threatening family members who remain in the country.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: I have been a "China Watcher" since the early 1980s, and I have never seen it as bad as it is now.I do not know when it will happen, but one day there is going to be blow-back against this repression.

Hat tip Fred for this link.

Criticisms Of Chinese President Xi Will Get You Arrested In China

Human rights activist Shen Liangqing (L) was issued an investigation notice (R) by police in his native Anhui Province in eastern China for what his friends say was for his criticism of the government's plan to eliminate term limits for top leaders. Photo courtesy of an RFA listener

Radio Free Asia: China Detains Former Prosecutor Who Criticized President's Plan For Unlimited Rule

Authorities in the eastern Chinese province of Anhui have detained a former state prosecutor on public order charges after he criticized plans to allow President Xi Jinping to rule indefinitely, his friends and relatives said.

Shen Liangqing, who has been a vocal critic of the government in recent years, was taken away by around 10 police officers from his home in Anhui's provincial capital Hefei on Tuesday evening, his son Shen Li said.

"They came here at about 8.30 p.m. and left at 9.25 p.m., but they wouldn't give us any details during the hour or more than they were here," Shen Li said.

He added: "They had a warrant with them, calling him for questioning, and the reason given was suspicion of 'picking quarrels and stirring up trouble.'"

Read more ....

Update: A former Chinese state prosecutor criticized Xi Jinping's plan to rule indefinitely and now he's been arrested (Business Insider).

WNU Editor: He is not going to be the last dissident who will be arrested in the coming months/years in China. This new plan that will allow President Xi to rule indefinitely has upset a lot of people in China, and I do expect protests and dissent to continue (but behind closed doors).

Growing Labour Unrest In China

Reuters

Damir Sagolj, Natalie Thomas, and James Pomfret, Reuters: Unpaid and angry

This year, 20 or so construction workers in the northern province of Hebei decided not to join China's legion of migrant workers heading home to celebrate new year with their families.

Too angry and proud to arrive home empty-handed, they have stayed put, demanding nearly a year's unpaid wages.

This protest banner, which workers claim authorities told them to stop using, reads: "Pay back the money that you owe".

"The developer has kept using the fact that they have no money as an excuse,” said Fan Fu, who brought others from his hometown in the western province of Sichuan to work on the Zixia Garden apartment complex in Qianan, Tangshan City. “As of now they haven't paid us a single penny."

"We really don't have any other options," he said in the offices of a subcontractor, crowded with bedding and personal possessions.

With China's economy growing at its slowest in 25 years, more workers face a similar predicament and labour unrest is on the rise, a concern for Beijing as it seeks to avoid social unrest even as financial pressures build.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: This is the Chinese government's #1 worry .... labour unrest, strikes, and demands for reform. Being one who has travelled, worked, and lived in China .... I have seen more than my share of unrest and protest. But this is different .... these are not students, politicians, disgruntled Party members, etc.,  who are unhappy .... this is the backbone of China ... a lot of middle aged men who now find themselves unemployed, broke, and desperate. And the scary part is that the Chinese central government does not know what to do about it .... .... As China’s economy unravels, Beijing’s attempts at damage control are growing increasingly desperate (Quartz).

Civil Unrest Is Growing In China

Rioting Crowd Severely Beats 5 Chengguan For Killing Civilian -- Shanghaiist

A riot involving around 1,000 people broke out last Saturday in Cangnan county of Wenzhou city, Zhejiang province, resulting in the hospitalization of five chengguan, China's notoriously abusive and under-regulated urban enforcement officials. The alleged cause for the riots was the five's brutally killing a civilian. According to reports, the chengguan "hit the man with a hammer until he started to vomit blood, because he was trying to take pictures of their violence towards a woman, a street vendor." This man later died while being rushed to the hospital.

Read more ....

Update: Strike spreads at Chinese supplier to Adidas and Nike -- The Guardian

My Comment: This is the central government's biggest fear in China .... civil unrest coupled with labor strikes and attacks against law enforcement. They have been able to keep it under control since the Tienanmen Square massacre in 1989 .... but in some places they are now losing that authority.

China's New Left Is Strating To Make Their Voice Heard

China's 'New Left' Grows Louder -- Brian Spegele, Wall Street Journal

Followers of Bo Xilai Criticize Direction of Communist Party, Exposing Leaders to Sensitive Questions Over Mao's Legacy.

BEIJING—Supporters of ousted political leader Bo Xilai are turning up the note of political discord in China with increasingly loud criticism that the policies of current Communist Party leaders are widening inequality and breeding social unrest.

The movement, known as the new left, remains relatively small and obscure, and is unlikely to have a major impact on the coming shuffle of party leadership positions. But criticism from Communist hard-liners in the era of online social media places China's leaders in a tricky position as a debate over the direction of the party and China's economic model is quickly spreading from universities and closed-door sessions into public view.

Read more ....

My Comment: For the moment this group is incredibly small .... and pushing Mao's legacy is falling on deaf ears in China. But .... if more stories like this one become public and economic conditions worsen .... public sentiment may quickly change.

Is China On A Tinderbox Ready To Explode From Labor Unrest?

China's Dorm Room Discontent Emerges As New Labor Flashpoint -- Reuters

(Reuters) - Twenty-three-year old factory worker Wang spends up to 12 hours a day making iPhone components in China, but his major complaint is not about the monotony of the production line - it is about his degrading worker-bee life inside the dormitory.

Wang, who did not want his full name published, is among thousands of workers housed in a vast complex where tensions aggravated by regimented and cramped living conditions boiled over on Sunday into a violent mass riot.

"The bathrooms are simply disgusting and people are constantly stealing things," Wang said as he stood outside of the factory in the northern city of Taiyuan, owned by Apple Inc's largest contract manufacturer, Taiwan firm Foxconn.

Read more ....

My Comment: This story is important to me because it confirms to me that unrest in China is growing .... and the reason why this Reuters story caught my eye was because I saw the same thing happened in the dormitories of Fujian Province when I was living there in 1988. While all of my travels and contacts were restricted (and watched) when I was in China in the 1980s, I did have the opportunity to see and understand China through my interpreters. One such occasion occurred when we visited a university, and a student told me what life was like in these places .... specifically the dormitories. In short .... his only belongings were a few t-shirts, shorts and pants, underwear and socks, and a simple jacket. No electronics. No money. No hope. He was living in a small and dirty room with three other men .... and all of them were frustrated with their lives, no longer caring about China and their role in it but yearning for change .... and there were tens of thousands of these men who felt this way. This was the first sign (for me) that there was growing unrest and frustration in China at the time .... an unrest that grew and grew until it culminated a year later in the Tienanmen massacre.

Is history repeating itself? Will a Chinese Spring burst out in the next year or two? I do not know the answer .... but I do know that when I was in China a few weeks ago .... I sensed growing unrest, and the same issues and grievances that were voiced in 1988 are being voiced today.

Update: The New York Times is also picking up on this growing unrest in China.

China Acknowledges The Power Of The Internet In Fermenting Social Unrest .... By Cutting If Off

China Cut Off Internet In Area Of Tibetan Unrest -- The Guardian

Internet connections and mobile phone signals were cut for 30 miles around scene of clashes in Sichuan, state media reports

Chinese officials cut off mobile phone and internet connections to areas where Tibetans were shot dead amid unrest last month, state media has reported.

Officials say security forces fired in self-defence after mobs of rioters attacked police and official buildings in the south-western province of Sichuan, resulting in two deaths.

Tibetan exiles and campaign groups say police fired at peaceful protesters and killed at least three people.

Read more ....

My Comment: Chinese authorities are trying to control and limit the news and communications .... lol .... it's not going to work.

U.S. Ambassador: Political Situation In China Very Unstable

U.S. Ambassador: Political Situation In China “Very, Very Delicate” -- The Cable/Foreign Policy

The Chinese people are increasingly frustrated with the Chinese Communist Party and the political situation in China is "very, very delicate," U.S. Ambassador to China Gary Locke said on Wednesday.

"I do believe that there is a power of the people, and there is a growing frustration among the people over the operations of government, corruption, lack of transparency, and issues that affect the Chinese people on a daily basis that they feel are being neglected," Locke told NPR's Steve Inskeep during a Wednesday interview, part of a media blitz Locke is conducting during his visit to Washington.

Read more ....

Update #1: US ambassador sees China rights worsening -- France24/AFP
Update #2: Beijing rejects US envoy's human rights critique -- CBS/AP

My Comment: I have been going to China since the mid 1980s .... so I have my own unique perspective. China has always been unstable, and the mass majority of the population have always been frustrated with the political process and their lack of participation. Having said that .... the Chinese of today (unlike the late 1980s and Tienanmen Square unrest and massacre) do not see revolution or civil strife as a solution to their problems. Their focus is still on business and economics, and unless the economy slows down appreciably .... which it will not .... China's internal situation will remain the same. Frustrated and unhappy .... yup .... that is what everyone is feeling in China today .... but they are not angry and frustrated enough to riot and overthrow the Beijing government.

A Rural Rebellion Is Growing In China

Chinese Village Locked in Rebellion Against Authorities -- New York Times

BEIJING — A long-running dispute between farmers and local officials in southern China exploded into open rebellion this week after villagers chased away government leaders, set up roadblocks and began arming themselves with homemade weapons, residents said.

The conflict in Wukan, a coastal settlement near the country’s booming industrial heartland in Guangdong Province, escalated on Monday after residents learned that one of the representatives they had selected to negotiate with the local Communist Party had died in police custody. The authorities say a heart attack killed the 42-year-old man, but relatives say his body bore signs of torture.

Read more ....

More News On A Rebellion In The Chinese City Of Wukan

Chinese police lay siege to village after riots over butcher who died of 'cardiac failure' while in police custody -- Daily Mail
Video From Inside Rebellious Chinese Village -- New York Times
Chinese villagers protest over custody death -- Financial Times
A unique protest in China -- The Hindu
Revolt in China: After Protests, a Village Gets Blockaded by Local Authorities -- Time
Rebel Chinese village of Wukan 'has food for ten days' -- The Telegraph
Chinese village put on lockdown amid growing unrest -- Washington Post
Tension simmers in blockaded China village after land protest -- Reuters

The Internet Is Changing How China Is Governed

Chinese Premier Wen lays a bouquet of flowers to mourn for victims of the train accident in Wenzhou Photo: REUTERS

'Grandpa Wen' Left Helpless As Internet drives Wave Of Unrest Through China -- The Telegraph

Whenever China suffers a major disaster, a visit from Wen Jiabao, or "Grandpa Wen", is usually enough to comfort the victims and reassure the country that its Communist leaders are looking after them.

So five days after two Chinese bullet trains collided in the south of the country, killing at least 39 and injuring more than 200, Mr Wen duly arrived at the scene.

Standing on a patch of gravel on Thursday that had been cleared of the wreckage, the Chinese premier promised to "get to the bottom" of what had gone wrong and apologised for not arriving sooner, blaming an 11-day illness and doctor's orders to rest.

In the past, that might have been the end of it. But on Thursday, Mr Wen succeeded only in ratcheting up public anger a notch.

Read more ....

My Comment: Even before the internet, unrest and protests (both in public and private) was always present in China. The difference is that today anyone who has web access can now voice their disapproval/disagreement with the authorities, and have an audience to listen to them. Chinese Premier Wen and his handlers know that, which is why I am surprised that they decided to lie 9anyway) and make the claim that he was ill for 11 days.

Wave Of Unrest Shakes China

Wave of Unrest Rocks China -- Wall Street Journal

Threats to Social Order Increasingly Hit Cities, Bringing Iron-Fist Response.

BEIJING—A wave of violent unrest in urban areas of China over the last three weeks is testing the Communist Party's efforts to maintain control over an increasingly complex and fractious society, forcing it to repeatedly deploy its massive security forces to contain public anger over economic and political grievances.

The simultaneous challenge to social order in several cities from the industrial north to the export-oriented south represents a new threat for China's leaders in the politically sensitive run-up to a once-a-decade leadership change next year, even though for now the violence does not appear to be coordinated.

Read more ....

More News On The Unrest In China

Migrant workers in China attack police in third day of riots -- The Telegraph
Chinese riots enter third day -- The Guardian
China migrant workers clash with police for third night -- BBC
Protesters burn police vehicles in southern China -- AP
Riots in southern China -- Reuters
Chinese Police Use Tear Gas To Quell Protests, Detain 25 -- Radio Free Europe
Death rumour sparks days of China riots: reports -- Economic Times/AFP
Dispute leads to confrontation in China -- UPI
Chinese Street Vendor Dispute Expands into Violent Melee -- New York Times
China riots smell of Tunisian Jasmine -- IBTimes
Rioting migrants latest sign of China resentments -- Seattle Times/L.A. Times
Migrant workers protest in China -- Chicago Tribune (Photos)

My Comment: News like these reports on civil unrest is what keeps the Chinese leadership up at night.