Today’s Focus: Is Xi Jinping’s Family Army Facing a Major Event? Xi Can’t Hide His Anxiety, Talking Once Again About High-Pressure Anti-Corruption; Nanjing Museum’s Case of Guarding Thieves, Revealing Fatal Flaws in the Communist System.
First of all, let’s take a look at the beginning of the new year. The CCP leader Xi Jinping published an article in the “Seeking Truth” magazine, emphasizing the need to maintain a high-pressure anti-corruption posture to ensure the “red regime does not change color.” Soon, Hong Kong media close to Beijing hinted that this year there might be a “giant tiger” emerging. Some analysts believe this “giant tiger” could be Xi’s confidant, Ma Xingrui. It is also believed that something big might happen within Xi’s family army this year, and in his speech, Xi also revealed his concerns about the survival of his regime.
On January 1st, the first issue of the 2026 “Seeking Truth” magazine was published by the CCP Central Organization, which included an article by Xi Jinping from the closing meeting of the Fourth Plenary Session of the Twentieth Central Committee.
In the article, Xi stated, “We must always maintain a high-pressure stance against corruption, never stopping, never retreating.” He also called for strengthening the ideological brainwashing of the entire party to “ensure the red regime remains unchanged,” and so on.
On January 2nd, the Hong Kong media close to Beijing, “Sing Tao Daily,” published an article analyzing that Xi’s speech may indicate that Beijing will continue the “thunderous anti-corruption” this year, and a “giant tiger” may emerge.
The article mentioned that after multiple rounds of “bone scraping therapy” within the PLA, there are few senior generals left, and it is believed that the peak of anti-corruption targeting senior generals has passed. Since the fall of “Military Tiger” He Weidong last year, there are only 23 members left in the Politburo, and the world is eagerly waiting to see which “giant tiger” will be exposed this year.
In 2025, the CCP’s party and government system collectively reported 65 top-level cadres falling, the highest number of inspected middle-level cadres announced by Xi since he took office in 2012, a growth of over 12% from 2024. In addition, with the multiple rounds of cleansing of the military by the CCP authorities, a large number of senior generals personally promoted by Xi have fallen, including former Politburo member and former Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission, He Weidong, and other military giants.
Political commentator Li Lin analyzed on “Epoch Times” that in 2026, the one who can be called a “giant tiger” is most likely to be Politburo member Ma Xingrui. In the past two years, senior officials above the Central Committee level who have run into trouble, especially generals like He Weidong and Miao Hua, were all handpicked by Xi and part of the Xi family army. Ma Xingrui himself is also part of the Xi family army, and has close ties with Xi and his wife. Ma Xingrui’s case involves the military industry system, Guangdong, and Xinjiang officialdom where he previously worked. If he is dealt with, it is very likely to implicate a large number of related senior officials falling. In other words, the troubles of the Xi family army are not over yet.
Who is Ma Xingrui? Born in 1959 in Shandong Yun Cheng, he currently serves as a member of the CCP Central Political Bureau. He previously held positions such as Head of the Aerospace Administration, Director of the National Defense Science and Technology Industry Administration, and Secretary of the Shenzhen Municipal Committee.
On July 1, 2025, the CCP officially announced that Ma Xingrui stepped down from the position of Secretary of the Xinjiang CCP Committee, and was succeeded by Chen Xiaojiang, the Executive Deputy Minister of the United Front Department of the CCP. Although the official statement mentioned that Ma Xingrui was “appointed elsewhere,” by the beginning of 2026, Ma Xingrui had not received a new position, instead continuously receiving negative news.
As a member of the CCP Central Political Bureau, Ma Xingrui has been absent from many important party meetings such as the Central Economic Work Conference, Politburo Study Sessions, and People’s Livelihood Meetings.
Self-media personality Jiang Wangzheng revealed that Ma Xingrui might become the first tiger sacrificed by the CCP in the Year of the Horse.
Regarding Xi Jinping’s mention in his speech to strengthen brainwashing, “ensuring the red regime remains unchanged,” and other remarks, Li Lin pointed out that this reveals Xi’s biggest inner fear, that is, losing the red regime. He wants to protect the party, but even he is struggling to protect himself now.
In fact, as early as December 25, 2025, the CCP Political Bureau announced during a meeting that in 2026, they will “promote comprehensive and strict governance of the party with higher standards and more practical measures.”
At that time, Li Lin said that these words were full of murderous intent, indicating that the infighting next year would be even more intense, and more senior officials would be taken down. He said that since Xi took office, he has purged political enemies in the name of anti-corruption, taking down big tigers like Zhou Yongkang, Guo Boxiong, Xu Caihou, and Ling Jihua, allowing the Xi family army to take full control. However, in recent years, there has been a massive collapse in the CCP’s party, government, and military system, with a large number of Xi’s promoted confidants falling, showing that the so-called “self-revolution” is nothing like child’s play, and under the unchanged authoritarian system, the newly promoted ones are just as corrupt.
Yuan Hongbing, a scholar familiar with the CCP system, said in an interview with “Seeing China” that Xi Jinping now has to turn inward and start a “self-revolution,” conducting a thorough review and cleansing of his personally nurtured Xi family army. The strong impact on the Beijing officialdom by cases of disloyalty like Miao Hua and He Weidong have left Xi Jinping in extreme anxiety. Because he doesn’t know why his personally nurtured Xi family army, the hawks and hounds he has generously rewarded with high positions, have returned with “absolute disloyalty and insatiable greed” toward him. Yuan Hongbing said that now there is no official in the CCP who is not corrupt, and under Xi Jinping’s makeshift governance, there is a growing sense of impending doom within the CCP officials’ deep consciousness.
From top to bottom, almost everyone in the CCP is corrupt, even public cultural resources have been occupied by power.
Recently, the Nanjing Museum’s collection of the Ming Dynasty masterpieces “Spring in Jiangnan” entered the auction market. Subsequently, former museum director Xu Huping was taken away by the police for massive theft and smuggling of cultural relics.
However, the discussion regarding the “Nanjing Museum guarding thieves” has not subsided, as historical records and various memories are pieced together. It has been discovered that this incident not only points to problems in the identification and disposal procedures but also reveals a decades-old case.
Recently, the Tencent blogger “Lessons from History” revealed the case of the former deceased director of the Nanjing Museum, Yao Qian.
In 1954, Yao Qian entered the Nanjing Museum and rose to become the director. She was a recognized professional leader in the cultural and historical relics field known for being knowledgeable and responsible. However, under tremendous mental stress, she committed suicide by hanging in her office on November 8, 1984, at the age of 58.
In 1985, after an investigation, the relevant authorities confirmed that allegations of “plagiarism of academic achievements” and “using power for personal gain” against Yao Qian were unfounded, and she was exonerated. At that time, the “Guangming Daily” even published an apology on the front page.
Blogger “Volcano Poetry” stated that Yao Qian “stayed true to her principles during her thirty years at the Nanjing Museum, treating the storage rooms as a battlefield, firmly believing in ‘guarding the national treasures with her life.'”
Chinese National Library writer Jiang Pinchao, speaking to the Epoch Times, pointed out that Yao Qian represented the conscience and backbone of intellectuals at that time, with a “burning fire for the country and the nation,” willing to sacrifice her life to protect state-owned cultural relics. He noted that such conscientious intellectuals have become “few and far between” in contemporary times where greed overpowers and money rules.
In fact, the deep-rooted background of the “Yao Qian incident” surfaced in the 1980s.
Chinese Redologist Feng Qiyong recorded in his autobiography “Life of Wind and Rain” that some “old comrades” in Jiangsu Province had long borrowed valuable calligraphy and paintings from the Nanjing Museum yet “borrowed without returning,” becoming a common practice.
According to regulations, museum collections should not be privately borrowed; however, because the borrowers were provincial party leaders, Yao Qian “had no choice but to lend.” She was very diligent, meticulously registering every artifact lent out, and repeatedly urging for them to be returned after the deadline. Even if “they couldn’t be reclaimed, she still went to ask,” leading to growing dissatisfaction.
Subsequently, Yao Qian was framed, first anonymously reported for “lifestyle issues,” which were baseless. Later, she was accused of “plagiarizing academic achievements,” escalating to media criticism. On August 26 and 27, 1984, the “Guangming Daily” published several articles specifically criticizing Yao Qian, putting immense public pressure on her. On November 8 of the same year, Yao Qian hanged herself; in 1985, Yao Qian was exonerated, and the “Guangming Daily” issued an apology.
Jiang Pinchao pointed out that Yao Qian’s ordeal exposed the fatal flaws in the CCP system, where professionals lacked protection mechanisms and could not resist power interventions. Facing threats from “larger bureaucrats” and “interest groups,” once standing by their principles, they might face media smears, job pressures, or even endanger personal safety. He said that without protection mechanisms, professionals face meaningless sacrifices, and today few would be willing to sacrifice their lives like Yao Qian did, given that it is no longer that era, and no one would risk their lives to protect so-called national assets.
Leader of the Overseas Human Rights Lawyers Union Wu Shaoping told the Epoch Times that although the CCP verbally claims to protect cultural relics according to law, their actions have not changed. From openly looting during the Cultural Revolution to present-day theft under various pretexts. Once relics are included in the “state-owned” system, their assessment and disposal rights are highly concentrated in the hands of power structures. In the absence of judicial independence and press freedom, “what is real can be said as fake, and what is fake can be said as real.” Ultimately, it may land in the hands of the “privileged.”
Jiang Pinchao also said that the loss of cultural relics is not just a matter of personal ethics but a “systemic problem.” Without a change in the system, the loss of relics is “impossible to prevent”; even if the museum director changes, the next one may commit the same crimes in different ways. He said, today, it is not wealthy to save relics, but rather “sending them away” to get rich. Some authentic pieces are very valuable, enticing people to liquidate them. In the CCP system, officials worry that without their positions, they can’t be greedy anymore. Thinking like this, “everyone is corrupt.” He said that there used to be intellectuals with a sense of responsibility for the country and the people, but from Jiang Zemin to Xi Jinping’s reign, which officials still think about the common people? They only care about money, striving to climb up for money. With this kind of mindset, how can the country be governed properly? When the top beam is not straight, the bottom beam will be crooked, and the entire country’s ethics are corrupted.
The series of events mentioned above surrounding the swindle at the Nanjing Museum are not just about individual ethical issues but also reflect issues within the Chinese Communist Party system that are fundamentally irreparable.
– “Moments of Good News” Production Team