Xi Jinping orders political crackdown to eliminate rivals, millions of party cadres at risk of being targeted

Share

Tweet

Share

Share

Email

Comments

Marking a major shake-up in the country, over two dozen police and judicial officials have been placed under-investigated, with dozens more removed from their posts in August as part of his ongoing anti-corruption campaign.

A senior ally of Xi told Wall Street Journal it was time to “turn the blade of a knife inwards, cure the poison by scrapping it from the bones” that must cleanse the country’s justice system of corrupt elements and purge officials who only paid lip service to the CCP.

As per the WSJ report, millions of party cadres are potentially at risk of being targeted.

Yan’an Rectification Movement style political purge

A “Yan’an Rectification Movement” style political purge was first announced by Chen Yixin on July 8 during a meeting of the Central Political and Legal Commission.

Yan’an Rectification campaign was a purge carried out in 1942 in which thousands of Chinese Communists were purged during Yan’an Rectification campaign.

Leaders who managed to stay in the party were forced to ‘unify their thinking’ and toe the official line of Mao Zedong, the father of Communist China. They were further directed to not deviate from the party’s and Mao’s official line or else they would face expulsion, torture and even death.

1.34 million officials purged in Xi’s first five years in office

Last month, Wang Xiaohong, a close aide to Xi and the most Senior Vice Minister for Public Security, published a paper on political discipline warning Janus-faced people who officially pretend to obey but secretly resist.

Political crackdown in Xi’s regime is not new as he has systematically eliminated his main political rivals after becoming CCP General Secretary in 2012.

During Xi’s first five years in office, 1.34 million officials were brought down over corruption, according to official data.

This purge is an attempt by Xi to stay in power despite abolishing term limits in 2018 as he is facing international pressure over mishandling of Wuhan virus outbreak, ravaging economy and rising tensions with the United States, India and other nations in Europe.