The recent downfall of a provincial-level official in China has caught the attention of political analysts because the official is known as a close confidant of Chen Min’er, a member of the Politburo who currently serves as the party chief of Tianjin.
In the infighting history of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), it is a common practice for a power struggle to start with an intimate subordinate of the targeted high-ranking official.
Analysts have said that after Chinese leader Xi Jinping secured his third term, there are two major factions in the top echelon of the CCP—the Zhejiang Gang and the Fujian Gang.
Mr. Chen is the representative of the Zhejiang Gang, which the Fujian Gang is opposing, led by Cai Qi, a member of the Politburo Standing Committee.
Li Zaiyong, former Vice Chairman of the Guizhou Provincial Committee of the People’s Political Consultative Conference, is seen as Mr. Chen’s “trusted butler.” He worked as Mr. Chen’s head secretary when the latter served as the party boss in Guizhou Province.
Chinese authorities announced the “double removal” disciplinary action—removal of Mr. Li from the party and public office on Nov. 7.
The crimes listed for Mr. Li were quite unusual. In addition to the commonly seen offenses such as power-money-sex deals and illegally accepting huge amounts of money and gifts, Mr. Li was accused of having “a distorted political view, a warped understanding of power,” and having excessively engaged in projects that can be touted as his achievements but were costly and burdensome to the people.
He was also said to have “recklessly violated rules in debt financing, causing significant debt risks,” an expression that is rarely seen in such notices.
In January 2017, Mr. Li served as the head secretary of the Guizhou Provincial Party Committee, a position directly subordinate to Mr. Chen, then party chief of the province.
Lu Tianming, a U.S.-based current affairs commentator, told The Epoch Times on Nov. 12 that Mr. Chen was once held in high esteem by CCP leader Xi Jinping and was once widely regarded as the possible successor to the party leader.
But given the current turbulent situation in the CCP, the potential of becoming a successor may be perceived as a big threat to the current leader.
“The power struggle at the top level of the CCP has gradually shifted from factional fighting to the internal struggle within the Xi clan,” he said. “Infighting is a constant in the CCP, first against political opponents and then among themselves, a consistent pattern throughout history.”
He further elaborated that Mr. Xi has basically subdued the Jiang Zemin-Zeng Qinghong faction and eradicated the Youth League faction. Now, with the Xi faction dominating China’s political arena, conflict of power and interests among themselves will inevitably lead to within-faction struggles that will only escalate.
A native of Zhejiang Province, Mr. Chen has held various official positions in the province for over 30 years. When Mr. Xi served as Zhejiang Party chief from 2002 to 2007, Mr. Chen was the province’s propaganda minister.
After Mr. Xi came to power in 2012, Mr. Chen began to rise through the ranks. He was successively promoted to the positions of deputy party chief of Guizhou Province, acting governor, governor, and party chief of the province. He entered the Politburo at the CCP’s 19th National Congress in October 2017. At the time, Mr. Chen was considered a rising political star and was even seen by outsiders as a potential successor to Mr. Xi.
On Oct. 15, 2019, Singapore’s Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat visited Chongqing, where he met with Mr. Chen and attended a dinner hosted by him. Mr. Heng also brought with him Singapore’s so-called fourth-generation leadership team and said he hoped the meeting would pave the way for the next generation of leaders from both countries to strengthen bilateral ties.
Mr. Chen said the meeting allowed him to better understand the thinking of the top leaders of both countries and the direction of bilateral cooperation. In doing so, Mr. Chen actually hinted that he is likely to be the future successor of the CCP.
Prior to the 20th CCP National Congress in October last year, Mr. Chen was considered one of the most promising candidates for the seven-member CCP Politburo Standing Committee, and he was widely recognized as a key member of the Xi clan. At the end of the meeting, however, many analysts were shocked to see that not only had the entire Youth League faction been kicked off the committee, but even Mr. Chen had been excluded.
Li Yanming, a U.S.-based China expert, told The Epoch Times that the failure of Mr. Chen to be promoted to the Politburo Standing Committee is a sign that his career has been blocked, and there may be a triple intertwining of political factors behind it.
Firstly, he has been blocked by anti-Xi forces such as the Jiang Zemin-Zeng Qinghong faction; secondly, he has been suppressed by the internal struggles with the Xi faction; and thirdly, he was subjected to distrust and suppression of Mr. Xi, who aims for long-term rule.
“The investigation of Chen’s former butler in Guizhou Province signals that his career fate is in jeopardy,” Mr. Li said.
