Recently, the Chinese Communist Party’s Political Bureau held a so-called “life meeting,” during which the embattled Ma Xingrui was once again absent. At this meeting, party leader Xi Jinping called on members of the Political Bureau to “strengthen political loyalty,” sparking discussion. Over the past two years, senior military and government officials personally promoted by Xi Jinping have fallen one after another, leading to accusations of the degradation of authority.
According to the official Chinese news agency Xinhua, the Chinese Communist Party’s Political Bureau convened a democratic life meeting from Thursday (December 25th) to Friday (26th). News footage showed that Ma Xingrui, a member of the Political Bureau who has recently been absent from several important occasions, did not attend the meeting, with Wang Yi taking the first seat among the members of the Central Political Bureau.
Prior to this, Ma Xingrui had already been absent from the November 28th “collective study” of the Political Bureau of the Chinese Communist Party. Subsequently, Ma Xingrui was also absent from the Central Economic Work Conference.
During Peng Peiyun’s farewell ceremony on December 26th, Ma Xingrui did not send a wreath. This was the second time Ma Xingrui was “absent” from such an occasion, following his failure to send a wreath at the farewell ceremony for former senior official Wang Bingqian on December 14th.
Ma Xingrui is considered one of Xi Jinping’s important confidants, as he and Xi’s wife Peng Liyuan are fellow Shandong natives, and he is also believed to have a close relationship with Peng.
On July 1st, the Chinese authorities announced that former Deputy Director of the United Front Work Department of the Chinese Communist Party, Chen Xiaojiang, would replace Ma Xingrui as the Party Secretary of Xinjiang, with Ma Xingrui being “assigned elsewhere.” However, Ma Xingrui has yet to be given a new position, leading to various negative rumors circulating about him, including allegations related to his service in the military-industrial complex and corruption during his time leading Guangdong and Xinjiang.
Anti-communist blogger Jiang Wang has recently been disclosing on the X platform that Ma Xingrui is under the control of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection at the “senior official detention center” in Huangshan, Anhui, or that he will be officially announced to have fallen at the Fifth Plenary Session of the Chinese Communist Party.
According to official media reports, the Central Political Bureau emphasized five key points. The first is to “take the lead in strengthening political loyalty and improving political capabilities.”
Independent commentator Cai Shenkun expressed his views on the X platform, stating that the core content of Xinhua’s external statements only includes the first sentence about strengthening political loyalty. Why is it emphasized repeatedly? It is because Xi Jinping is very clear that the loyalty of the more than twenty people around him is still insufficient.
Some netizens echo this sentiment, saying, “Not everyone who supports a dictator submits to him; more people are driven by inner fear. In fact, once it is known that the dictator is more weak and fearful than you, the ruling alliance will collapse.”
“He has entered the ‘Huaguofeng mode’.”
“I feel that Cai Qi, Li Qiang, Huang Kunming, etc., under the guise of purging the party, are intensively targeting the factions of Xi Jinping, including the aerospace faction, the Tsinghua faction, the Shaanxi clique, all of which have been hit. Ma Xingrui’s stepping down should be seen as a self-destructive act within Xi’s camp, showing that Xi Jinping is no longer able to control his subordinates.”
Independent commentator Du Zheng previously wrote that the Communist Party of China is heading towards a scene of decay, where “those with discerning eyes can see that Xi has promoted the ‘big tiger’ while ailing, losing all authority, and is beyond redemption.”