Life-or-Death Battle! Zhang Youxia Holds the Key, Xi Pushed to the Brink!

Chinese continuously shock the world. Fakes bomb threat to cancel flight over seat change. Defecates in aisle. Fights in public. Citizenship and green cards no longer guarantee safety. Many Chinese immigrants face visa revocation and deportation. American dream ends. Anti-Chinese violence in Africa exposes CCP's failure in belt and road strategy. Chinese citizens pay the price in blood as riots, kidnappings, and murders erupt. The economic dilemma and power struggle under Xi Jinping's six-nose strategy. Does Zhang Yuya hold the critical trump card? Xi's close allies face group annihilation, plunging the Central Military Commission into a power dilemma. You're watching Decoding China, where we bring you timely analysis and grounded perspectives on today's China. Chinese continuously shock the world. Fakes bomb threat to cancel flight over seat change. Defecates in aisle. Fights in public. On September 22nd, a serious false bomb threat occurred in the Malaysian state of Sabah. A Chinese couple caused chaos at the airport by sending a fake email claiming there was a bomb on their flight, hoping to cancel it and secure better seats. The false message triggered panic among passengers and prompted immediate security action. Police later identified the suspects, a 29-year-old man and his 28-year-old wife, and arrested them that evening at a hotel in Sona. At the scene, authorities seized a Vivo X200 Pro Mini smartphone, believed to have been used to send the threatening email. The couple admitted they copied an online article suggesting that a bomb hoax could get their flight cancelled to allow them to choose better seats. They are currently under a four-day remand and face criminal charges under Malaysian law. Though seemingly absurd, the act not only disrupted flight operations but also reflected a deepening decline in public awareness and social responsibility. This is far from an isolated case. During the 2025 Lunar New Year travel rush, a female passenger aboard Singapore Airlines flight SQ-826 sparked another scandal by pounding on the lavatory door, insulting and physically attacking flight attendants while the plane was taxiing for takeoff. The captain was forced to return the aircraft to the gate to remove her and her companion. The flight was delayed nearly two hours and landed in Shanghai an hour and 26 minutes late. From air travel to international sports events, incidents of uncivilized public behavior have become increasingly common. At the Shanghai Masters tennis tournament, a female spectator danced, shouted, and disrupted play despite staff warnings. When security escorted her out, a mixed-race boy, believed to be her son, clung to her in fear, creating an awkward and chaotic scene that quickly went viral. Online commenters remarked bitterly, Analysts say these repeated incidents point to a deeper cultural and psychological crisis. Since the COVID-19 pandemic and China's ongoing economic downturn, many citizens have grown anxious, irritable, and prone to extreme outbursts. During the recent National Day holiday, subway stations overflowed with crowds, adults argued, children cried, and some passengers were nearly pushed onto the tracks. Online debates erupted about whether bystanders should help those being shoved, with many saying, If you try to help and someone loses their belongings, you'll be blamed. This reflects a widespread erosion of social trust in Chinese society. Sociologists note that decades of rigid propaganda and education have produced a distorted personality type, one that is obedient to authority, but aggressive in public. Many Chinese behave submissively before superiors, yet show hostility or arrogance towards strangers, creating a two-faced social psychology. This moral decay manifests in many forms. On one domestic flight, a parent allowed their child to defecate in the aisle. In another viral video, a man sprayed a fire extinguisher directly at three women during an argument, causing one to collapse from suffocation. Experts warn that fire extinguisher powder can cause serious lung damage or even death if inhaled. Meanwhile, photos showing piles of trash along the Dukou Highway in Xinjiang, once praised as one of China's most scenic roads, triggered outrage. The local tourism department pleaded with travelers not to turn a national treasure into a landfill. According to scholars, the root cause of such uncivilized and selfish behavior lies in the communist ideological framework, which preaches collectivism, but suppresses individual conscience and self-discipline. Government campaigns like spiritual civilization construction remain empty slogans, incapable of addressing the underlying issue, that people were never taught self-respect, restraint, or empathy for others. Historically, China was known as the land of propriety and civilization, where stories such as Confucius giving the larger peach to his elder brother or the six-foot alley tale symbolized humility and harmony among neighbors. But since the infiltration of Marxist-Leninist ideology, those values have eroded. Humility and kindness have been replaced by aggression, selfishness, and the pursuit of money and fame. Today's endless scenes of public fights, seat disputes, littering, and aggression are not mere incidents. They are symptoms of a profound moral collapse. When people can no longer distinguish between order and chaos, civility and vulgarity, society loses its ability to regulate itself. Analysts warn that this may be China's greatest spiritual tragedy, a nation outwardly modern, yet inwardly fractured by the disintegration of moral foundations and human dignity. Citizenship and green cards no longer guarantee safety. Many Chinese immigrants face visa revocation and deportation. American dream ends. For years, many Chinese immigrants believed U.S. citizenship offered protection, even if they broke the law. However, in 2025, the U.S. Department of Justice, DOJ, took actions that shattered this belief. The case of Vanessa Ben, a Houston restaurant owner whose citizenship was revoked, sent shockwaves through the Chinese immigrant community. The IRS discovered that her 2017 tax return, filed before her naturalization, contained false information with intentionally underreported income and a fraudulent $7,212 tax refund claim. In 2019, she pleaded guilty, served a 12-month prison sentence, and paid a fine. Despite the resolution of her minor tax fraud case, in March 2025, the DOJ moved to revoke her citizenship, arguing that her failure to disclose the crime during naturalization showed a lack of good moral character, rendering her ineligible for citizenship. This case highlights heightened risks for Chinese immigrants in industries like restaurants, nail salons, supermarkets, and trucking, where cash transactions are common. Many business owners underreport income, hire workers off the books, or make small deposits to avoid bank reporting. Previously, such actions led to back taxes and fines. But now, good moral character reviews examining pre-naturalization behavior could trigger a citizenship crisis. Vanessa's case serves as a stark warning. Investigations may not only demand back taxes, but could also cost someone their green card or citizenship. In early September 2025, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, RISIC, conducted a large-scale operation in the greater Chicago area, arresting many Chinese immigrants during court appearances or upon re-entering the U.S. One Chinese man, a green card holder who immigrated 30 years ago, was arrested at Chicago O'Hare Airport after visiting family in China. Over a decade earlier, he had served a prison sentence for growing marijuana in California and completed probation. Despite this, he was detained upon his return. The Drug Enforcement Administration, DEA, has been collaborating with ICE to combat illegal marijuana trafficking and undocumented immigrant activities in California. A raid on a warehouse in the city of Industry, California, officially operating as an import-export business, uncovered a large-scale illegal marijuana operation. Although marijuana is legal in California, cultivation requires both local and state licenses, which 80% of local governments refuse to issue. This has turned commercial real estate warehouses into hotspots for illicit activities, with significant participation from the Chinese community. The rise of Chinese e-commerce platforms like Taimu and Taobao has drawn young Chinese immigrants into the U.S. e-commerce sector. Some illegal suppliers sell stolen goods from retail stores at low prices, unknowingly pulling these sellers into theft rings. U.S. law enforcement is cracking down on this end-of-line market. Convicted sellers face felony charges, loss of goods, and deportation risks. In Southern California, 40 to 50 Chinese vendors specialize in procuring and reselling stolen goods on e-commerce platforms. Recent U.S. tariffs on Chinese imports have increased shipping costs, leading to market shortages and pushing more stolen goods into the supply chain, often sourced from thefts in Southern California warehouses intended for Black markets in Mexico or South America. One seller, Xiao Li, traded stolen goods with an Armenian supplier multiple times, profiting from low prices. When police raided his warehouse, they found legal and illegal goods mixed together, and all inventory was seized. Prosecutors focused not on whether he knew the goods were stolen, but on whether he had a reasonable excuse for not knowing. Signs like unusually low purchase prices, 30% below market value, cash transactions, lack of proper invoices, and suppliers' demands for direct warehouse deliveries without storage proof indicated his negligence. President Trump's stringent immigration policies have left even legal permanent residents with green cards feeling unsafe, prompting many Chinese immigrants to seek U.S. citizenship. Local Chinese media report that applications for citizenship courses at the City College of San Francisco have risen steadily, with a significant increase since Trump took office. However, China's prohibition on dual citizenship forces many to hesitate, as it requires relinquishing their Chinese passports. An online commenter stated bluntly, the days of Chinese immigrants trying to have it both ways are over. From Vanessa Ben's citizenship revocation over tax fraud, to the arrest of a green card holder at Chicago O'Hare, from potential deportation risks for minor offenses like DUI to criminal charges for reselling stolen goods through e-commerce, these cases serve as an urgent reminder, neither green cards nor citizenship guarantee protection. Minor past mistakes or gray area actions can lead to loss of status or deportation. For Chinese immigrants, the American dream feels increasingly fragile, with the path to it now fraught with obstacles, where one misstep could undo years of hard work. Anti-Chinese violence in Africa exposes CCP's failure in Belt and Road strategy, Chinese citizens pay the price in blood as riots, kidnappings, and murders erupt. Since late 2024 to the present, violent unrest targeting Chinese businesses has erupted across East Africa, exposing the Chinese Communist Party's failure to protect its citizens abroad. On September 25th, 2025, large-scale demonstrations broke out in Antananarivo, the capital of Madagascar, inspired by Gen Z movements in Kenya and Nepal. Protesters, frustrated by social injustices, frequent water and power outages, and deteriorating infrastructure, turned their anger into riots. Chinese-owned shopping malls and stores were looted and set ablaze, with some business owners reporting losses of 50 to 60 million RMB. The United Nations reported at least 22 deaths and over 100 injuries. President Rajoelina promised dialogue with the youth and aid for affected businesses, but the violence has deeply shaken the Chinese community in Madagascar, where robberies targeting Chinese individuals have become frequent. Similarly, on July 28th, 2025, a one-third increase in diesel prices sparked a nationwide strike by small bus drivers in Angola, escalating into the country's worst protests in recent years. According to CCTV, the riots caused 22 deaths and 197 injuries, with Chinese-owned shops looted, some emptied in mere seconds, as reported by Huang Ruiquan, chairman of Angola China City. From late December 2024 to early 2025, Mozambique descended into turmoil following opposition protests over the October presidential election results. In the capital, Maputo, violent clashes included a large-scale anti-Chinese wave, with Chinese stores and facilities looted. Shockingly, locals used armored vehicles donated by the CCP to ram Chinese-operated supermarkets. An ex-user noted that even an agricultural demonstration center built through CCP-Mozambican cooperation was looted. Despite its aggressive wolf-warrior stance toward democratic nations like the U.S. and Europe, the CCP has remained silent, offering no protective evacuation for Chinese citizens in Mozambique. The Chinese embassy's response was a mere advisory to exercise caution, which critics called meaningless. As one ex-user remarked, it's estimated that only when their lives are in peril do Chinese people realize that to the CCP, they are nothing. An ex-platform blogger, News Investigation, posted that since the Chinese Communist Party began its heavy investments in Africa, locals increasingly view Chinese individuals as money trees. In some African countries, police openly extort Chinese residents. Someone summarized, It seems African countries have reached some kind of tacit agreement, taking turns to rob Chinese shops. South Africa robs, then the Democratic Republic of Congo, then Angola, and even more outrageously, Nigeria directly targets entire enterprises. In Africa, robberies of Chinese shops are not uncommon. Take Angola, for example. As soon as riots break out, local impoverished people rush to Chinatown to rob Chinese stores. Chinese shop owners have tried hiring large trucks to block entrances and employing armed security guards to patrol, but it's useless. Hundreds or thousands of people charge in, and there's no stopping them. Although local governments may intervene, the losses suffered by Chinese businesses are already done. Netizens have expressed outrage over these experiences, commenting, What is the CCP embassy doing? They flex their muscles in the Taiwan Strait every day with their so-called destroyers and self-proclaimed Where are they now? These comments hit the nail on the head. The CCP is quick to display its wolf warrior stance against democratic nations like the United States and Europe, vowing to fight to the end. Yet, when Chinese citizens face danger in Africa, the CCP remains silent. Meanwhile, the CCP's focus on aiding Africa persists, even as Chinese citizens face plummeting living standards and struggling industries. African international students in China receive exemplified by Shandong University's controversial study buddy policy. The university secretly assigned attractive female students from ordinary or poor families to assist African students, leading to reports of pregnancies, abortions, and mixed-race births. Alarmingly, since the policy's implementation, Shandong University's AIDS infection rate reportedly surged by 295.2%, with some comparing it to rates in red-light districts. This issue extends beyond Shandong University. One man reported, a Zambian student hospitalized for AIDS in 2007 claimed relationships with at least 100 female college students, with at least 20 later confirmed to have contracted AIDS. Since 2010, China has canceled health checks for African students, raising concerns about disease transmission. A netizen quoted Mahatma Gandhi's saying, there are seven things that can destroy humanity. Politics without principles, wealth without work, knowledge without character, science without humanity, commerce without morality, pleasure without conscience, and worship without sacrifice. Another responded, the seven things that can destroy humanity. The CCP embodies them all. The economic dilemma and power struggle under Xi Jinping's six-nose strategy. Does Zhang Youya hold the critical Trump card? As the Chinese Communist Party's fourth plenary session is scheduled for October 20th, 23 in Beijing, China's political landscape is once again under global scrutiny. The session aims to formulate the 15th Five-Year Plan to address mounting economic pressures. However, amid severe domestic and international economic challenges, rumors and controversies surrounding Xi Jinping's leadership continue to intensify. Commentator Wen Zhe draws a historical parallel, comparing Xi Jinping to Ye Mingchen, the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi during the Second Opium War, notorious for his six-nose strategy. No fighting, no peace, no defense, no death, no surrender, and no retreat. Ye was ultimately captured by the British. Wen Zhe labels Xi a six-nose general secretary. No war, afraid to invade Taiwan, no peace, unwilling to yield to the US, no defense, unwilling to isolate from the West, no death, unwilling to abandon the CCP for democracy, no surrender, unwilling to yield to crises, and no retreat, unwilling to step down. This strategy may allow Xi to navigate crises without immediate collapse. However, China's compounding economic crises render the six-nose approach a path to rapid failure. Economic Crisis, Real Estate Collapse and Widespread Poverty Wen Zhe highlights China's most pressing economic issue, the real estate collapse. In the mid-2010s, real estate and related sectors accounted for 20-30% of GDP, with land sales comprising 30-40% of local government revenue, an extraordinary dependency. Upstream industries include mining, smelting, and chemicals. Midstream involves finance and development, and downstream encompasses appliances, renovations, and automobiles. Wen Zhao emphasizes the real estate-automobile connection. 15-20% of new car sales are tied to home purchases. Rising home prices once fueled suburban migration and car demand, particularly in third- tier cities with limited public transit. In recent years, the real estate collapse has dragged down car sales, with new vehicles entering a cutthroat low-cost electric vehicle market, a curse of economic decline, not a blessing, according to Wen Zhao. Falling home prices have eroded wealth perception, curbing consumption. With high leverage, a 30% price drop triggers systemic collapse. Despite price drop limits, in first- and second-tier cities, actual prices have fallen 30% since 2021, and in third- and fourth-tier cities, prices have halved. With no market liquidity, homes have lost value, leading to widespread re-impoverishment, with rescue measures exhausted. Wen Zhao suggests Xi's six nos mirrors Ye Mingchen's delusion of coasting to victory. But external changes, like Britain's global shifts in Ye's era, will eventually disrupt this strategy. China's residents have yet to fully acknowledge their re-impoverishment, a process that takes time. Whether they will accept eating grass remains uncertain. Military role and risks Zhang Youya's do-or-die path. Commentator Tang Jingyuan argues that while Xi lacks governance competence, he excels in power struggles, exploiting the elder's desire to preserve the CCP to avoid a bloodless ouster. Ousting Xi at the Fourth Plenum requires a Central Committee vote, but over 70% of the 20th Congress Central Committee members are Xi loyalists, creating uncertainty. Elders have lobbied for defections, but Xi's loyalists may have their own plans. Tang suggests Xi holds a trump card. His ideology is enshrined in the party constitution, forcing elders to pay lip service, allowing him to delay challenges until the 21st Congress and increase variables. Tang Jingyuan focuses on Zhang Yousia's precarious position. As a key elder ally controlling military power, Zhang is in a delicate situation. Elders may sacrifice Zhang's safety to preserve the party, but if Xi remains in power, Zhang faces a purge at the 21st Congress in two years upon retirement. Tang argues Zhang cannot afford two years of uncertainty and must ensure Xi's ouster at the Fourth Plenum, with no chance of recovery. If Xi refuses to resign and elders compromise to maintain the status quo, Zhang's safety will be jeopardized. He needs an independent contingency plan, leveraging military control to manage the situation or even making a bold move to oust Xi Tang notes this would only ensure temporary safety. The root issue requires CCP dissolution and military nationalization to resolve the party-army conflict. Four possible plenum outcomes Ahead of the Fourth Plenum, Beijing's diplomacy has shifted, abandoning wolf-warrior rhetoric for concessions to the U.S. Tang Jingyuan notes the recent K-visa policy to attract Indian and Russian talent to offset population dividend losses, but it may also target overseas Chinese. Wen Jiao believes ignoring the economy will repeat Mao-era mistakes. Experts predict three possible outcomes for the Fourth Plenum. Maintaining the status quo until the 21st Congress, Xi resigning as general secretary and military commission chairman, then as state president at the next two sessions, or forcibly stripping all his titles, triggering a state of emergency. The second outcome is considered more likely. Tang emphasizes Zhang Yuke as a decisive factor, with his strategic awareness shaping the outcome. Xi's close allies face group annihilation, plunging the Central Military Commission into a power dilemma. The Fourth Plenum of the Chinese Communist Party is scheduled to convene in Beijing from October 20th to 23th, preceded by frequent high-level personnel changes. Several close allies of CCP leader Xi Jinping have either fallen from power or gone missing, while key military positions have remained vacant for extended periods, drawing external attention to signs of power instability. Analysis suggests that this wave of purges reflects Xi's desire to maintain control through ongoing rectification efforts, but it also exposes vulnerabilities within the system and instability in military morale. On October 4th, veteran commentator Hong Yaonan published an article noting that since the 20th National Congress, the CCP's military and political leadership has been in a state of unrest, with corruption scandals erupting one after another. Some officials have been purged, positions left vacant, and high-ranking officials have disappeared without a trace, plunging the entire system into an abnormal state where vacancies and replacements occur in parallel. This is not an isolated incident, but a sign of systemic collapse. The two major power centers of diplomacy and the military have been caught in an unrelenting cycle of purges. Former Foreign Minister Qin Gong, former Defense Minister Li Shengfu, and Central Military Commission CMC Vice Chairman He Weidong, all regarded as members of Xi's clan army, have faced significant delays in the handling of their positions. In contrast, non-lineage figure Liu Zhenchao disappeared, but was swiftly replaced by Liu Haixing, demonstrating a selective logic in power operations and reflecting the dilemmas within the system. Military commentator Mark from the YouTube channel On one hand, Xi Jinping still holds immense power, but to ensure his close allies don't become complacent once elevated, he uses political purges, ongoing cleansing, to instill a sense of crisis in them. This approach is somewhat similar to the regimes of Stalin in the past and North Korea's Kim Jong-un today. At the same time, the military has experienced a rare dual interruption in its political and military hubs. Following Miaohua's downfall, the critical position of Director of the Political Work Department has remained vacant for an extended period, leaving the CCP's armed forces without a central political leadership figure. Meanwhile, CMC Vice Chairman He Weidong has been out of contact since March this year, leaving only Zhang Yuxia to single-handedly hold the fort. Analysts warn that should Zhang Yuxia face changes due to health, political, or trust issues, the CMC structure could collapse instantly, revealing the fragile nature of the CCP's one-man rule system. U.S.-based Current Affairs commentator Zheng Haokang remarked, The crux of the problem isn't that key positions are vacant, but that these positions remain empty for long periods or undergo frequent changes, all conducted secretively, without letting the outside world know who's replacing whom, leading to endless speculation. This atmosphere is the true manifestation of a power crisis in Zhongnanhai. With suspicion and hesitation surrounding promotions at the military's apex, morale naturally becomes unstable. According to statistics, since Xi Jinping took power in 2012, 14 generals he personally promoted in the CCP military have been investigated or have vanished outright, a proportion as high as 17.7%. As the fourth plenum approaches, the outside world widely believes that any key personnel changes will serve as critical signals for observing the evolution of Xi Jinping's power landscape and the restructuring of power within the CCP military. Your feedback matters. Share your views in the comments. If this content resonated with you, we invite you to share it with your network. Your continued support empowers us to pursue independent, high-quality journalism. Subscribe and like to stay up to date with Decoding China. Thank you for watching.