In today’s focus: Hu Jintao is named, Ma Xingrui disappears, abnormal signals emerge from former finance minister’s funeral; complaints about local financial difficulties are widespread, Party media clarifies “it’s tight, not hard”; Robbery! Shanghai single woman dies, government seizes her inheritance, not allowed to buy a cemetery plot.
In recent years, there has been intense infighting among the top echelons of the CCP, with frequent personnel changes. Recently, abnormal signals have once again emerged from the top ranks of the CCP. On December 8th, former Minister of Finance of the CCP and former State Councilor Wang Bingqian passed away in Guangdong at the age of 100. On the 14th, he was cremated at a funeral home in Guangzhou. CCP official media subsequently released obituaries and related news, some of which details have attracted attention.
Firstly, Hu Jintao’s name has surfaced once again. According to the report by Xinhua, during Wang Bingqian’s illness and after his passing, Hu Jintao and other leaders “visited the hospital to express condolences or conveyed condolences through various forms” and mourned Wang Bingqian’s passing and expressed condolences to his relatives.
On the surface, such reports are in accordance with CCP practices. However, due to Hu Jintao’s sensitive situation in recent years, this “naming” has attracted external attention.
Wang Bingqian was born in Hebei in June 1925. In 1980, Wang Bingqian was appointed Minister of Finance and Party Secretary of the Ministry of Finance. In 1983, he served as a State Councilor concurrently as Minister of Finance and Party Secretary. In 1993, he became Vice Chairman of the NPC Standing Committee, and retired in March 1998.
Hu Jintao, the former leader of the CCP, is 82 years old this year. At the closing ceremony of the 20th National Congress of the CCP in October 2022, he was instructed by Xi Jinping to be “escorted” out of the venue. This event shocked the international community and was seen by the outside world as a sign of the CCP’s high-level infighting becoming public. Coupled with the retirements of Li Keqiang and Wang Yang, and Hu Chunhua being kicked out of the politburo, it is generally believed that the “Youth League faction” represented by Hu Jintao has been completely purged by Xi Jinping. However, rumors about veteran leaders like Hu Jintao being involved in power struggles have been constantly circulating in the past two years.
Although there have been rumors, since 2023, Hu Jintao has rarely appeared in public. His name occasionally appears in mourning or farewell occasions, such as sending wreaths to the late former senior CCP officials Li Keqiang and Wu Bangguo.
At this year’s September 3rd military parade, most of the CCP veterans were present, but Hu Jintao, Zhu Rongji, and Song Ping did not appear. There are rumors that they did not appear due to health issues.
Therefore, this time Hu Jintao was singled out by official media, attracting external attention.
However, what is more noteworthy than Hu Jintao being named at this farewell ceremony is the “absence” of Ma Xingrui.
From leaked on-site photos, it can be seen that almost all current members of the Political Bureau sent wreaths at Wang Bingqian’s funeral, except for Ma Xingrui.
According to CCP’s tradition, members of the Political Bureau are arranged in order of strokes in their surnames, Ma Xingrui should have been placed ahead of Politburo member Wang Yi’s name. However, his name was not seen on the wreaths at the scene.
Similar situations have occurred before. For example, in March this year, after the two sessions, He Weidong “went missing.” In June, a farewell ceremony was held for former Vice Chairman of the CCP Central Military Commission Xu Qiliang, and members of the Political Bureau sent wreaths, but He Weidong’s name was absent. At this point, three months had passed since He Weidong went missing.
Therefore, Ma Xingrui’s “absence” this time has raised external attention. On overseas social platform X, many netizens bluntly said, “Ma Xingrui is basically done for,” and “It’s already a social death, waiting for the official announcement.”
Ma Xingrui is considered one of Xi Jinping’s important confidants. On July 1st this year, he was suddenly removed from the position of Party Secretary of Xinjiang, with the official explanation being “another appointment.” However, up to now, the official has not announced his new position.
Although Ma Xingrui attended the September 3rd military parade this year, in the footage on CCTV, he appeared agitated.
What is even more noteworthy is that on November 28th, the CCP Politburo held meetings and collective learning one after another. The footage broadcast by official media showed that Ma Xingrui did not attend the meetings. On December 8th, the CCP Politburo held another meeting. There are reports that Ma Xingrui was absent from the meeting once again.
From December 10th to 11th, the Central Economic Work Conference was held in Beijing. In the footage on CCTV, Ma Xingrui’s presence was also missing.
In other words, within a short period, Ma Xingrui has consecutively missed several key meetings, coupled with the incident of not sending a wreath, rumors of Ma Xingrui’s downfall have escalated.
China’s economy continues to decline, and local finances are under increasing pressure. In response to this phenomenon, the CCP officials have frequently emphasized the need to “live frugally.” Of course, this “tightness” refers to grassroots cadres. So, just how “tight” are the days of CCP grassroots cadres? It’s tight to the point where even CCP Party media can’t bear to watch. Recently, Party media criticized some units for interpreting “tight times” as having to endure “hard times,” calling such practices have already prompted complaints from grassroots officials. In response, many netizens mocked, saying that the officials were playing word games. Some analysts believe that the CCP’s financial difficulties and the challenging days for grassroots officials have exacerbated internal contradictions and governance problems within the CCP officialdom.
On December 16th, the CCP Party media People’s Daily published an article criticizing units for interpreting “tight times” as “hard times” after they imposed the “anti-waste regulation”, emphasizing the need to “strictly implement simple measures and set an example of living frugally.” However, some units misunderstood this and equated “tight times” with “hard times.”
The report cited examples such as old office supplies and equipment in some places, affecting work efficiency but not being replaced promptly, some covertly reducing reasonable welfare benefits, and others cutting back on expenditures that should be allocated to serving the public. “This practice not only confuses priorities but is also unsustainable.”
The report also stated that “living within ‘tight times’ is a long-term plan, the key is to control extravagance and waste, and improve work efficiency.” “What really needs to be reduced is not legitimate welfare benefits, but the excessive burden on grassroots cadres,” and so on.
This report sparked ridicule from netizens. Some netizens said it’s tight, not hard, playing these word games pretty well! Whether it’s positive or negative, everything is what you say.
According to verification, the CCP media has published several similar articles like “living within ‘tight times’ is not enduring ‘hard times.’” Just this year alone, multiple articles have been published.
For example, in August, People’s Daily once published an article criticizing various places for implementing the “anti-waste regulations,” pointing out that some places lazily governed under the guise of “living frugally.” The article emphasized that living within “tight times” in Party and government offices does not affect the income of officials, and “reasonable wages, subsidies, and social security should not be reduced by a single cent.”
In September, CCTV’s website published an article titled “‘Tight times’ ≠ ‘Hard times’: Understanding the Life Temperature Behind the Central ‘Tight’ Policy”, and the official public account “Solidarity Lake Examination” published an article titled “Does ‘Living Frugally’ Affect Daily Life? This Is an Evasion Tactic of Lazy Officials.”
In response, current affairs commentator Li Linyi stated that the central government wants to prevent waste below, but reducing waste inevitably means reducing budgets, such as using equipment when it can be used. In this situation, everyone is worried about being reported by political enemies and afraid of being blamed by leaders they have offended, so they try to save as much as possible. Some benefits that used to be considered normal, but now local governments don’t have money and issuing them again would be abnormal. However, once reduced, some officials are unwilling, leading to conflicts of interest. So those Party media reporters are speaking without feeling the consequences, thinking that even if the government goes bankrupt, party cadres should not endure “hard times” with the people, welfare benefits should not be reduced, only the work pressure should be eased. This view itself is very strange.
Li Linyi pointed out that the CCP’s Party media has been explaining “living frugally isn’t enduring ‘hard times’” from several months ago to now, which explains that due to the deteriorating economy and financial difficulties, internal contradictions and governance issues within the CCP officialdom, including the difficulty of central policies being effectively implemented in the localities.
In fact, financial problems have long been evident in local governments all over China, including first-tier cities. According to official CCP data, in 2024, the finances of the four first-tier cities of Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen were all in deficit. Other regions are even worse off, such as Yunnan and Heilongjiang provinces, where general public budget expenditures exceed their incomes by three times.
Recently, a 46-year-old woman in Shanghai suffered a sudden brain hemorrhage. She passed away recently. As she was unmarried, had no children, and her parents had passed away, her inheritance belonged to the civil affairs bureau of the CCP. A distant cousin who had paid for her medical expenses wanted to use her inheritance to hold a memorial service for her and buy a burial plot, but the local CCP secretary at her residence countered, saying, “It’s impossible,” “at most the state will give her a sea burial.”
The incident, once it became known, sparked public outrage. Many netizens condemned: “Robbery.”
According to reports from mainland media, Ms. Jiang, 46, lived in Hongkou District of Shanghai. Her parents had passed away, and she was unmarried with no children. On October 14th, Ms. Jiang felt dizzy and unable to move, took leave from work, and was later sent to the hospital by her colleagues. After being diagnosed with a brain hemorrhage by the doctors, she needed surgery.
Since surgery required a family member’s signature, and with no close relatives, Ms. Jiang thought of a distant cousin, Mr. Wu.
Mr. Wu’s grandfather is the cousin of Ms. Jiang’s father, which means that Mr. Wu and Ms. Jiang’s relationship was very distant and they barely met once a year during the Chinese New Year.
After receiving the news of Ms. Jiang being taken to the hospital, Mr. Wu hurried to the hospital to sign and together with Ms. Jiang’s company, paid 30,000 yuan for medical expenses to save Ms. Jiang.
To ensure her treatment, Mr. Wu arranged for her to consult with a specialist and paid 10,000 yuan for the treatment, but Ms. Jiang did not make it to the appointment and passed away on December 14th.
After Ms. Jiang’s death, with no heirs, her assets under her name should be received by the Civil Affairs Department according to the law. Mr. Wu and a friend of Ms. Jiang hoped to use her inheritance to hold a memorial service for her and buy a burial plot.
In theory, this is a very reasonable idea, but it was opposed by the CCP secretary of Ms. Jiang’s residential area.
Mr. Wu said, “It’s reasonable to use her money for her. I suggested purchasing a burial plot, which should be necessary, but Secretary Wang said it’s impossible, and at most, the country will provide her with a sea burial.”
Mr. Wu expressed his bafflement at the authorities’ actions. He said, “She can’t even use her money for her own affairs after she has passed away. I think anyone encountering this would find it difficult to understand.”
The Hongkou District Civil Affairs Department stated that according to regulations, under normal circumstances, the deceased’s close relatives are supposed to handle the funeral arrangements. For someone like Ms. Jiang who is alone, if Mr. Wu is willing to handle it, he can submit a written application, but the expenses for purchasing a burial plot should be within a reasonable range, and the subsequent maintenance costs still need to be borne by Mr. Wu.
Soon, the “46-year-old single woman in Shanghai dies, unable to use her own money to buy a burial plot” incident spread, causing a heated discussion. Netizens criticized the authorities for having a “disgusting appearance.”
Netizens’ comments:
“It’s disgusting, the deceased can’t even use her own money, distant relatives have no inheritance rights, and they have to bear subsequent costs themselves. This situation is truly disgusting.”
“After working hard all her life and she can’t even use her own money to buy a burial plot? So, she worked hard her whole life, and yet after her death, she can’t even have her remains laid to rest?”
“During Ms. Jiang’s rescue period, her relative Mr. Wu twice paid for her medical expenses, totaling tens of thousands of yuan. Why didn’t the neighborhood lend a helping hand back then? After Ms. Jiang’s death, what reasons does the neighborhood have to inherit her assets?
This was Ms. Jiang’s property to begin with and should belong to her after her death. How come she can’t even buy a burial plot?”
“Stealing someone else’s inheritance and then showing such an ugly side. This face is too unsightly.”
– Jia Yin Moment Production Team