Xi Jinping Threatens Another Cultural Revolution to Target Opponents Within the CCP

The then-Chinese military delegate General Liu Yuan, political commissar of the General Logistics Department of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, arrives at the Great Hall of the People, in Beijing, China, on March 12, 2015. (Feng Li/Getty Images)

Lately, Chinese leader Xi Jinping has been reviving the idea of the “Maple Bridge Experience,” which was advocated by former Chinese leader Mao Zedong during the Cultural Revolution (1966–76). This move is being viewed as an escalation of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) internal power struggle.

On Jan. 5, The Epoch Times interviewed Yuan Hongbing, an Australia-based Chinese jurist and dissident. He said, “Rumors are coming out of the CCP that a group of ‘princelings’ represented by Liu Yuan, the son of former vice chairman of the CCP Liu Shaoqi, have formed a consensus against Xi Jinping’s dictatorship. For Xi, this represents a major direct challenge to him.”

The so-called “princelings” refer to descendants of prominent CCP leaders and officials who retained massive amounts of influence and wealth within the regime.

Mr. Yuan said that on Dec. 26, 2023, the 130th anniversary of the birthday of Mao Zedong, Mr. Xi gave a speech touting Mao at a ceremony in Mao’s hometown. His aim was in fact to warn the princelings who opposed him, using Mao as a reminder to them of the persecution they suffered during the Cultural Revolution.

“This includes the ‘Maple Bridge Experience,’” Mr. Yuan said. “Xi’s reintroduction of the ‘Maple Bridge Experience’ is to remind the princelings that their fathers and mothers were subjected to Mao’s dictatorship during the Cultural Revolution, and that if they continue to oppose Xi, he may use the methods of the Cultural Revolution against them again. Whether he will be able to do so remains to be seen.”

The so-called Maple Bridge Experience in the 1960s, when the CCP mobilized the masses in a township in Zhuji County, Zhejiang Province, to “supervise and reform” the “Four Categories” of people. These “Four Categories” were the CCP’s collective term for landlords, rich peasants, “counter-revolutionaries, and villains.” The strategy divided the population into classes and encouraged class struggle to purge these supposed enemies of communism. In 1963, Mao Zedong instructed that the Maple Bridge Experience be promoted nationwide to strengthen the CCP’s totalitarian rule and to crush the regime’s opponents at the grassroots level. This resulted in the murder of many who fell under the Four Categories.

The Princelings’ Contempt Toward Xi

On Jan. 3, Mr. Yuan also published a front-page article on how the CCP’s internal crisis is affecting Taiwan in Taiwan’s national newspaper, Liberty Times. In the article, he said that insiders from within the CCP have revealed to him that Mr. Xi is facing the most serious political crisis since he came to power. A political consensus has been formed among the princelings, who are seeking to usurp power and get rid of Mr. Xi.

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Mr. Yuan said in his article that this group of princelings’ fathers and brothers were subjected to Mao’s brutal political purge during the Cultural Revolution, and some of them were even persecuted to death. This current group of princelings includes almost all of the most influential members of the CCP’s second-generation families, and this is arguably the most unprecedented political crisis for Mr. Xi since he took power.

Former Ally Turned Into Adversary

Mr. Yuan also told The Epoch Times that, according to current information from insiders within the CCP, the relationship between Wang Qishan, former “vice president” of China, and Mr. Xi has gone bitter.

“In the past, Wang Qishan was one of Xi Jinping’s allies, helping him purge several rivals in the name of “fighting corruption,” but in reality, he was fighting for power,“ said Mr. Yuan. “There are now many signs that Wang Qishan was clearly dissatisfied with Xi’s domestic and foreign policies in recent years, which he believes are likely to lead the CCP into a major crisis.”

Mr. Wang was once second to power in the CCP’s hierarchy, right next to Mr. Xi. However, in recent years, Mr. Wang Qishan’s old friends and associates have been arrested and put on trial one after another, and public opinion generally believes that the relationship between Mr. Wang and Mr. Xi has cracked.

Loyalty Crisis

Mr. Yuan also revealed that the biggest crisis facing Mr. Xi is actually from among his current so-called “loyalists,” which he has cultivated over the years. The problem is that these people are not always loyal to him. They have also shown disloyalty to a considerable extent.

He said Mr. Xi’s recent sweeping purge of the military showed that even his own hand-picked appointees were privately disgusted with his domestic and foreign policies.

“In short, Xi Jinping is now surrounded by a bunch of ’two-faced men.’ Therefore, this is probably the biggest political crisis Xi Jinping is facing,” Mr. Yuan said. “This crisis will likely lead to a major political earthquake for Xi’s regime in 2024.”

Xi’s Military Purge

On Dec. 29, 2023, the CCP announced the removal of nine military representatives from China’s National People’s Congress (NPC), including three generals and at least four lieutenant generals, mainly from the CCP’s Rocket Force and the Equipment Development Department of the Central Military Commission.

The official announcement did not give a reason for their removal, but three out of the nine people were related to Zhang Youxia, the first-ranked vice chairman of the Central Military Commission. This means that the relationship between Mr. Xi and Mr. Zhang has deteriorated and that Mr. Zhang is unable to protect his subordinates.

U.S.-based Chinese current affairs commentator Chen Pokong said during an interview with The Epoch Times that although Mr. Zhang has not yet lost his power, the fact that at least three of the nine generals removed from the NPC are related to him suggests that Mr. Xi’s relationship with him has been quite turbulent.

According to Mr. Chen, Mr. Xi is now rejecting and marginalizing Mr. Zhang within the CCP, but he does not yet dare to go after him because he is, after all, a member of the Politburo and vice-chairman of the Central Military Commission. Therefore, Mr. Xi is trying to stabilize the situation as much as possible, but it is clear that there is a split in the military.

Mr. Chen said: “Six or seven members of the CCP’s Central Military Commission are in a state of division. From former Chinese Minister of National Defense Li Shangfu to Mr. Zhang’s allies and members of the CCP’s Rocket Force, there has been a wave of political purges and internal power struggles. Therefore, there is a potential confrontation between the Xi faction and the Zhang faction within the Central Military Commission.”

Xin Ning and Michael Zhuang contributed to this report.