Princeling-Founded Chinese Media Publishes Dissenting Articles, Challenging Xi Jinping: Analysis

Hu Shuli, chief editor of Caixin Media, attends a panel discussion during the inaugural Abu Dhabi Media Summit in Abu Dhabi, UAE, on March 11, 2010. Ana-Bianca Marin/Getty Images

Hu Shuli—the high-profile founder and publisher of Caixin Media—has been in the spotlight lately over a spate of articles that sing a different tune to that of the current Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leader, Xi Jinping.

Recognized for its business and investigative reporting, Caixin Media has long been known for supporting the “reform and opening up” policy—initiated by CCP patriarch Deng Xiaoping—which runs counter to Xi Jinping’s planned economic strategy of emulating Mao Zedong, the party’s first leader.

Yuan Hongbing, a liberal legal scholar living in Australia, told The Epoch Times that he has received inside information that there is a rumor within the CCP system that a group of second-generation party princelings has formed a consensus against Mr. Xi’s dictatorship.

Ms. Hu, according to Mr. Yuan, is among these princelings and is publishing articles that suggest their political intentions are clearly on the opposite side of Mr. Xi.

Ms. Hu established Caixin Media in January 2010 and became executive editor of a new publication called Caixin Weekly.

State-owned newspaper group Zhejiang Daily Newspaper Group had held a 40 percent stake in Caixin Media. However, in December 2013, China Media Capital, a Shanghai-based private entity, took over that stake from Zhejiang Daily Newspaper Group, making it Caixin Media’s top shareholder.

Recent Several Articles Published in Caixin

On Jan. 4, Caixin.com started serializing Ms. Hu’s work, “Retracing the Exile Road of Predecessors,” recounting her eight-day trip to the Indonesian island of Sumatra, where her grandfather’s biological brother and other early CCP predecessors went into exile.

This series of articles is extracted from her new book, “Crossing the Edge of History,” published in November 2023.

Hu Shuli, co-founder of China's independent Caixin Media, speaks at the foreign correspondents club in Hong Kong on July 11, 2011. Mike Clarke/AFP via Getty Images

The serializing of Ms. Hu’s book came after two articles published in Caixin Weekly were censored.

On Dec. 25, 2023, the day before the official commemoration of Mao Zedong’s birthday, Caixin Weekly published an editorial entitled “Revisiting the Line of Seeking Truth from Facts,” quoting Deng Xiaoping’s statement “Seek truth from facts” several times and concluding with Mr. Xi’s words “Whoever violates the principle of seeking truth from facts will mislead the Party and the country.”

Observers believe that in this way, the article implicitly criticizes Xi’s misguided decisions, such as draconian Zero-COVID approaches and prolonged city blockades, as well as the suppression of the private sector and the exclusion of party rivals, which party descendants consider to be detrimental to their group’s interests.

The article was soon deleted.

Less than one week later, Caixin Weekly published another article named “Farewell to 2023,” which covered famous Chinese and foreign personalities who passed away last year and ranked the late Premier Li Keqiang at the top of the list.

Again, the article was quickly removed, and Ms. Hu’s microblogging account was cleared.

Tang Jingyuan, a U.S.-based current affairs commentator, told The Epoch Times that the message conveyed by these publications is not the boldness of any particular editor or of Hu Shuli personally.

“In a certain sense, Caixin has become the main public opinion platform of the anti-Xi forces [within the CCP],” Mr. Tang said.

Rumors of Ms. Hu being interrogated by state security from Beijing have been circulating on the X platform, formerly known as Twitter, and other social media. The Epoch Times could not independently verify this.

Subsequently, The First Financial, a Chinese media outlet affiliated with the publicity department of the Shanghai Municipal Committee, made public an editorial on Jan. 3, saying that China’s economic growth can be attributed to the government’s decentralization and distribution of the power, “the best promise to private enterprises is to let go and decentralize.”

According to the article, private enterprises have yet to enjoy the benefits from them despite substantial incentives and measures. The key to solving this problem is “restricting and defining the boundaries of exercising administrative power.”

Political observers view this article as endorsing Caixin’s previous opinions.

Hu Shuli’s Red Forefathers

In the serialized “Retracing the Exile of Predecessors,” Ms. Hu mentioned Hu Yuzhi, the brother of her grandfather Hu Zhongchi.

Mr. Hu Yuzhi had served as vice minister of the Ministry of Culture while Mr. Hu Zhongchi was also a member of the CCP underground before 1949 and later served as deputy director of the book editing department of the Foreign Languages Publishing House.

Mr. Hu Yuzhi secretly joined the CCP in September 1933, organizing the founding of many publications linked to communist ideology, such as Literature, Translation, Taibai, Women’s Life, etc.

In the fall of 1940, Mr. Hu Yuzhi was sent to Singapore as the editor-in-chief of Nanyang Siang Pau, one of the oldest Chinese-language newspapers in Malaysia. When Singapore was occupied by Japan in 1942, he and other communists went into exile in Sumatra, Indonesia.

U.S.-based political commentator Chen Pokong believes that Ms. Hu’s recollection of her grandfathers seemingly tells the outside that the Xi authorities have banned her and that she may be on the road to exile.

Current affairs commentator Li Linyi said that it is unusual for Ms. Hu to post a serialized version of it at this moment as it was already published late last year, “suspected of using her Red descendant status as a means of pressure to stand against Xi’s rule.”

Wang Qishan’s Willingness

In Mr. Yuan’s view, the recent articles in Caixin also somewhat show “the willingness of Wang Qishan.”

China's President Xi Jinping (R) shakes hands with former Vice President Wang Qishan (L) during the third plenary session of the National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing on March 10, 2023. Noel Celis/AFP via Getty Images

Mr. Wang is a second-generation princeling who was once vice-head of the CCP (March 2018–March 2023) and a member of the Politburo Standing Committee. He had been the main henchman of Mr. Xi’s anti-corruption campaign when he held the reins of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection. However, a large number of his subordinates have been purged over the years.

Ms. Hu had a close relationship with Mr. Wang during his tenure as secretary of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection. Ms. Hu’s website, Caixin media group, worked for Mr. Wang and almost became a weathervane in the fight against corruption.

“Hu’s moves represent Wang Qishan’s resolution to a large extent,” Mr. Yuan said, adding, “The political intention of Hu Shuli’s latest articles is obvious, that is, to challenge XI Jinping.”

According to Mr. Yuan, the fact that the second generation of the princeling dares to oppose Mr. Xi openly is, to a certain extent, in line with the current trend of public opinion, “which is where their political energy lies.”

Recently, the “10 musts and 10 must nots” went viral online in a post on X, although without naming Mr. Xi, but ironically warning with short sentences like “to be a human being, to speak human words, to be grounded, and to do practical things, don’t aim too high, don’t daydream, don’t pretend to understand, don’t say one thing in public, and do the opposite secretly, don’t be greedy for heaven’s achievements for yourself, don’t go on TV day after day and don’t be bent on becoming a head of the earth.”

“Xi has been a political loner and can only rely on a massive secret service system armed with modern technology and bodyguards to retain his regime,” Mr. Yuan said.