The Chinese Communist Party will hold the Fourth Plenary Session of its 20th Central Committee from October 20th to 23rd this year. Analysts believe that internal struggles within the CCP are intensifying, with the actual number of casualties within the entire Central Committee possibly surpassing Xi Jinping, who rose to power during the anti-corruption campaign in his first term. Xi Jinping has dug a hole for himself, and the Fourth Plenary Session is expected to be a humiliating event.
According to the official announcement, the agenda of the Fourth Plenary Session is to “study the proposals for formulating the 15th Five-Year Plan for national economic and social development.” However, the Taiwanese media outlet, “Up Media,” published an independent commentary by Du Zheng on October 4th, suggesting that this is just a superficial topic, and the real importance lies in the power struggles behind the scenes.
Du Zheng pointed out that among the members of the Central Committee elected at the 20th Party Congress, there are as many as 46 officials who are in trouble, but only 19 of them have been officially announced as fallen by the authorities.
Of the officially announced fallen Central Committee members, 13 include former Minister of National Defense Li Shangfu, former Commander of the Rocket Force Li Yuchao, former Minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs Tang Renjian, former Minister of Foreign Affairs Qin Gang, former Director of the Political Work Department of the Military Commission Miao Hua, Governor of Shanxi Province Lin Xiangjun, Chairman of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Lan Tianli, Chairman of Inner Mongolia Wang Lixia, and former Chairman of the China Banking Regulatory Commission Yi Huiman. In addition, Minister of Industry and Information Technology Jin Zhuanglong was removed from his position, and Commander of the Armed Police Force Wang Chunning and Minister of the Logistics Support Department of the Central Military Commission Zhang Lin were also relieved of their duties as deputies to the National People’s Congress. Liu Jianchao, Minister of the United Front Work Department, was replaced by Liu Haixing at the end of September.
Six alternate members of the Central Committee have been officially fallen, including Shanghai Municipal Party Committee Standing Committee Member Zhu Zhisong, Chief of Staff of the Rocket Force Sun Jinming, Standing Committee Member of Yunnan Provincial Committee Li Shisong, Standing Committee Member of Qinghai Provincial Committee Yang Fasen, Director of the National Railway Administration Fei Dongbin, and former Standing Committee Member of the Guizhou Municipal Committee, and Secretary of the Bijie Municipal Committee Wu Shenghua.
Moreover, there are a large number of individuals, led by Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission He Weidong, who have been missing for a long time and rumored to be under investigation or removed abnormally, with their whereabouts unknown.
The Communist Party’s official media once promoted that the members of the 20th Central Committee were “personally overseen” by Xi Jinping and even “had individual conversations” with him.
Du Zheng stated that since Xi Jinping came to power, during the five years after the anti-corruption campaign that peaked at the 18th Party Congress, a total of 43 members of the Central Committee and alternates have been investigated, all of whom were associated with the Jiang Zemin faction and the Hu Jintao faction. Up to the 20th Congress, halfway through Xi’s five-year term, 46 individuals have fallen, and those who have been brought down are people who were promoted by Xi Jinping himself. This irony is striking.
Among the fallen members is Miao Hua, a key ally of Xi Jinping in the military. Du Zheng pointed out that Miao Hua blatantly engaged in selling official positions, right under Xi’s nose, so it is impossible for Xi not to have known. Similarly, He Weidong, who had connections with Xi, particularly in Fujian, was said to have had many unconventional ideas. When he served as the Commander of the Eastern Theater Command, he also devised plans for unifying Taiwan by force, which pleased Xi and led to his extraordinary promotion.
The article mentioned that Xi Jinping was initially considering taking a big gamble in Taiwan. However, under the influence of He Weidong and Miao Hua, they became a bit reckless and offended the First Vice Chairman of the Military Commission, Zhang Youxia. As a result, Miao Hua was reported for selling positions, and Xi had to agree to an investigation. He even suggested a “suspension check” grace period, but eventually, Miao Hua did not pass the test and had to face severe consequences. Following the National People’s Congress in March 2025, He Weidong, who had been in office for just two years and five months, also suddenly “disappeared.”
The article suggests that with Xi Jinping’s close allies falling one by one, it directly weakens his authority. Some say that Xi is removing his own people, while others argue that it is others purging his allies. However, it seems more like others are forcing him to bring down his own. Regardless of the circumstances, the upcoming Fourth Plenary Session will be a mockery for all Central Committee members, posing a great humiliation for Xi.
Du Zheng mentioned that after the fall of Luo Yinguo, the former Party Secretary of Maoming, he once said that the CCP promotes corrupt individuals. Xi Jinping had also stated, “Corruption in the administration is the greatest corruption.” Despite the CCP being touted as the world’s largest party, Xi Jinping stands as the most corrupt individual.
On August 29, 2016, the General Office of the CCP Central Committee issued the “Opinions on Preventing the Promotion of Cadres ‘Carrying Diseases.'” The document requires accountability for promoting ill-suited officials, theoretically including the General Secretary of the CCP Central Committee. Du Zheng believes that those who create laws may one day be punished by the laws they establish. When Xi Jinping faces a power crisis, opportunists may use these regulations to hold him accountable. By proposing this assistance regulation, Xi is essentially digging his own grave.