Why is the Shaolin Abbot in Trouble? Who is His Replacement?

All right, we still have a little time left, so let's talk to everyone about the latest developments and information regarding the She Yongxin case. Today, the Shaolin Temple Management Office released the latest update through the official Shaolin Temple WeChat public account. The announcement was very brief, just a single sentence, in accordance with the measures for the appointment of abbots in Han Chinese Buddhist temples. After two rounds of democratic evaluation and approval by the Shaolin Temple community and completion of the relevant procedures, Master Ng Le has been respectfully invited to serve as the abbot of Shaolin Temple. Of course, as for this Master Ng Le, we actually mentioned him in yesterday's program, and some of you also brought him up, right? Back in 2003, when She Yongxin was serving as the president of the Hunan Buddhist Association, he promoted Ng Le and arranged for him to become the abbot of White Horse Temple. As for Master Ng Le, he graduated from a Buddhist college. He isn't a traditional monk in the strict sense, but rather someone who came out of a Buddhist academy. Right. And he has also held positions in the Buddhist Association for a long time, and he's also a deputy to the National People's Congress. At White Horse Temple, he's been involved in things like the White Horse Temple Buddhist Culture Research Association, and so on, all under the banner of promoting the so-called culture of White Horse Temple, right? It's pretty much the same playbook as what She Yongxin did with Shaolin culture. To put it plainly, just by looking at his background, you can tell that this Master Ng Le is definitely someone recognized by the CCP system. And not only that, he's someone who is highly trusted within this political-religious system. It's just that Master Ng Le might not be as, well, as overt as She Yongxin in his approach. He hasn't made a big splash by aggressively commercializing things, right? And as for his personal reputation, when it comes to his personal conduct, there haven't really been any issues reported. Maybe in this regard, he's not as over-the-top as She Yongxin, you know? So, it seems that Master Ng Le comes across more like a Buddhist scholar. Of course, a Buddhist scholar with a background within the CCP system. That's basically how he's positioned. So, he should be considered someone who is politically pretty safe and unlikely to cause any major trouble, a rather low-key figure. Now that Master Ng Le has become the abbot of Shaolin Temple, how much of a difference can he really make? We can see that a lot of people now think that with his arrival, maybe the thousand-year-old good reputation of Shaolin Temple can be restored, and so on. Let me tell you, it's actually not quite what many people imagine. As everyone knows, temples all over China have what's called a management committee, or Guan Yu Fu for short. Many people don't realize that in most temples and monasteries, it's actually this management committee that truly runs things. It's the management committee that really calls the shots, right? They're the ones truly in charge. As for the abbot or the head monk, more often than not, they're actually just figureheads. Most of them, or even the vast majority, are just in name only. This is the usual situation. Of course, you can see that from the official announcement about Shui Yongxin being investigated to the official announcement of Shui Ng Le taking over as the abbot of Shaolin Temple, it was always the Shaolin Management Committee that came forward to make these statements. They're the real ones, right? The ones actually running things and pulling the strings behind the scenes. There's a detail everyone should pay attention to. Before Shui Yongxin got into trouble, besides being the abbot of Shaolin Temple, he was also always serving as the director of the Shaolin Temple Management Committee at the same time. So, to put it plainly, this management committee is kind of like the political commissar. If you compare the temple to an army, right? If the abbot is like the commander, then the management committee is kind of like the political commissar. That's the relationship. Basically, it's like the party committee, or you could just think of it as the temple's party committee, to put it that way. So, Shui Yongxin, by serving as both the abbot and the head of the Shaolin Temple Management Committee, was essentially the party secretary of Shaolin Temple, or like the municipal party secretary. He held that kind of position. So, after Shui Yongxin was investigated, everyone noticed that the Shaolin Management Committee started frequently releasing important announcements to the public. What does this indicate? It shows that someone else is clearly in charge of the management committee now. Someone else is running things and handling operations. In other words, you can see and take note that the new abbot is called Shui Yongxin, right? This monk. If he isn't also serving as the director of the management committee, then his so-called position as abbot is basically just a symbolic ceremonial role. The one really in control is the management committee. But as for who exactly has become the director of this committee, that's still unclear. For example, if it ended up in the hands of some official from the Religious Affairs Bureau, or if it falls into the hands of some official from the United Front Work Department, that basically means all those vast assets of Shaolin Temple would, well, belong to the Chinese Communist Party. They'd be owned by the authorities. It's like slaughtering this fat pig, Shui Yongxin, the abbot. Now they're eating the pork and drinking the pig's blood. That's basically the idea here. But speaking of this, we have something to share with everyone. Maybe a lot of you have been waiting for this, right? It's a rather important version, a rumor that's been circulating among the public. But like I said before, there's really no way to verify this kind of rumor. And personally, I don't treat it as news. So everyone might as well just treat this as a bit of countryside gossip, you know, just idle chatter from the village. I'm just telling it as a story. And you can just listen to it as a story. Think of it as something to laugh about after a meal or over tea. As for how much truth there is in this rumor, you can judge for yourselves. So what does this rumor actually say? Why did Shui Yongxin get into trouble? What was the trigger? The gist of the rumor is that back in 2015, why was Shui Yongxin let off the hook? Despite such serious accusations against him, he came out unscathed. The real reason, it said, is because the Shaolin Temple's money-making schemes had actually been running for many years. Moreover, the entire Shaolin Temple was already deeply intertwined with the politics of the CCP and some local governments at the time. So if they had arrested Shui Yongxin back then, it would have ruined the Shaolin Temple's reputation. Plus, it would have been a matter of national face for the CCP, very embarrassing, and the whole world would have laughed at them. That was the main reason why he wasn't arrested at the time. Besides that, there was a second major reason. There really was a very powerful figure involved. This big shot especially liked to visit Shaolin Temple to burn incense and worship Buddha, and it's said that this person was ranked among the top leaders in the CCP. Anyway, that's what the expose claims. They mention whether this person was a member of the standing committee or maybe a vice national-level leader, right? Anyway, the point is that this person holds a top-level position at the very highest ranks. It's said that this kind of figure was always very polite and respectful toward Shui Yongxin. But then, Shui Yongxin ran into trouble because he felt his own status was already way too high, right? He got a bit too full of himself, lost touch with reality. He would often, both openly and behind the scenes, show off his connection to this big shot, sometimes even publicly. In some situations, he'd say that so-and-so was just like such-and-such in front of him. Of course, we won't get into the specifics here, but let's just say it wasn't a very flattering term. So what happened? While he was smugly bragging and showing off with those words, someone secretly recorded him. And after the recording was made, it actually ended up in the hands of that big shot's family. Naturally, the family played the recording for the big shot to hear. Just think about it. This is a classic case of not being very damaging, but extremely insulting. So, of course, the big shot was furious and humiliated and immediately started taking action. It was just like when the top authorities directly exposed Shui Yongxin, saying he had issues with his conduct and assets, that it was very serious and demanding strict punishment, and so on. Everyone knows dirt on Shui Yongxin. Evidence was there. He was investigated 10 years ago. Everything was out in the open, conclusive. When top leadership got their hands on evidence, this influential big shot firmly demanding an investigation. After some discussion, the top leadership decided, all right, then, we really do need to take action against Shui Yongxin and get rid of him. And that's how we ended up with the spectacle everyone is seeing now, right? Of course, like I said before, these are just rumors. When you hear them, they do sound pretty vivid and convincing, but there's no way for you to verify any of it. It's just that, based on my personal understanding of the CCP, things like this happening within their system really aren't surprising at all. The plot of this story, in fact, fits perfectly with the usual way things work in the CCP's officialdom. Of course, as for who this big shot actually is, whether it's really the retired Li Chanchun or not, we don't know. However, this version actually fits the current political reality better. And what political reality is that? It's that Shui Yongxin, all these years, ever since he made it through 2015 and scathed, has always thought that he had aligned himself with Xi Jinping, the biggest and most unshakable pillar of power, right? The one who holds absolute authority, who would never be toppled. Little did he know, though, that at the very top, things had already shifted dramatically. But maybe he just wasn't aware of it. Or didn't understand what that meant for him. Think about it. If Xi Jinping still held absolute power, if he was the sole authority, right? If he still had everything firmly in his grasp, being the only figure at the top, then no matter who complained about Shui Yongxin, no matter what accusations they made, it would be pointless and never lead to any result. Why? Because Xi Jinping himself protected Shui Yongxin 10 years ago. And it was Xi Jinping who announced the official investigation's conclusion, stating Shui Yongxin was completely clean, innocent, and had no problems. Xi Jinping would never overturn his stance and accuse Shui Yongxin of the same crimes, claiming those accusations are now true. He previously called them slander, but now, sometimes, they're facts, right? Xi Jinping wouldn't do that. So, because things have changed and Xi Jinping is no longer in power, this complainant, this big shot, knows now is the best chance to get revenge on Shui Yongxin. After all, Xi Jinping has been ousted, right? Now, the ones who might really be gaining power are people like Wen Jiabao and his group. Just think about it. Wen Jiabao has always been extremely disgusted with Shui Yongxin. Don't forget, it was Wen Jiabao who put a stop to the Shaolin Temple's attempt to go public back in the day. It's said that Wen Jiabao made a comment at the time, saying, this kind of thing, right, just can't be done, right? Especially when it comes to a place like the Shaolin Temple. I mean, we're talking about an ancient temple that's been around for a thousand years, right? It just doesn't fit at all. How could a thousand-year-old temple go public, right? Turn into a listed company? At the time, Wen Jiabao just cut it off with one stroke. So you can see exactly what Wen Jiabao's attitude is towards Shui Yongxin and this whole series of actions at Shaolin Temple, right? So now, if the rumors are true and Wen Jiabao is actually in power, then Wen Jiabao would have gotten something like this. Expose and report someone. And not only can they deal with Shui Yongxin, but the authorities can also, in the process, rake in a huge sum of money. It's said to be several tens of billions. And on top of that, they can also give Xi Jinping a little slap in the face, right? This is killing three birds with one stone. Why not do it if you can? Anyway, it's just some idle gossip from the countryside. Something for everyone to chat about after a meal, right? Let's not take it too seriously. Just treat it as a story. All right, next, let's respond to a question from everyone. This friend asked this. He said, Actually, it's a viewpoint I saw from Professor Yuan Hongbin. It says that Xi Jinping and Zhang Youxia are actually putting on an act. She holds all the power in his hands. Over the past year or so, all the signals we've seen about Xi's authority have been deliberately released by Xi himself, including those from American and Japanese think tanks. And as for the military, Xi has it firmly under control. Zhang is still on Xi's side. It's just that Xi has been purging a large number of people in the military who are disloyal to him. In plain terms, those military leaders who don't want to fight Taiwan, everything Xi himself has done, including personnel arrangements in the party, government, and military, is all to numb the U.S. military and then launch a blitz attack on Taiwan. That's one way of putting it. My personal view is that I tend to take a more cautious attitude. Why is that? It's just that if you say Xi Jinping and Zhang Youxia, they're doing this in order to put on a show. I think this play is a bit too dramatic. The moves are just too big. It's the kind of thing where you really have to stretch your imagination to figure out who it's pointing at. So that I could, say, fool the U.S. military to make them let their guard down. So we get together and plan, like, hey everyone, let's put on a show. The performance would be that I've completely lost power, and it's Zhang Youxia who's in charge now, and all my close confidants are going to be taken down. But then that would... This would directly bring up a problem, like with Miao Hua, He Weidong, and even Lin Xiangyang, or Wang Hou. Anyway, this whole group, they're all part of Xi's inner circle, and they're all the main commanders for the operation against Taiwan. So where exactly are they now? For example, just for the sake of putting on this act, you have all these people now completely. They've gone completely silent, right? Quietly hiding somewhere to make plans. Is this all for a blitz on Taiwan? Is that what they're up to? I just feel like this approach really isn't all that necessary. Why? Because no matter what you do, even if you hide these few generals, like He Weidong, right? Or Lin Xiangyang, who are all supposed to be the main commanders for an attack on Taiwan, right? You say these people have been involved in corruption and take them down, quietly hide them away. But if you think you can fool the US with this, you really can't. The way I see it, why? Because fighting a war doesn't depend on just these few generals. You have to mobilize your entire army, right? Your warships, your ground forces, including your rocket force units. Those rocket missiles, right? All of these things need to be mobilized. If you really wanted to attack Taiwan, there's no way you wouldn't make any such moves. People are saying now, with all those satellites up in the sky, right? All these reconnaissance methods are keeping a close watch. They're watching extremely closely. Every single move you make can be seen crystal clear. Even the license plate number of a car on the ground can be seen clearly. If you... If you just hide a few generals, it doesn't really mean much. In my view, as soon as you start moving the troops, then the US and Taiwan would immediately be alerted at the very first moment. So, in my opinion, this explanation doesn't really hold water. Secondly, I think the idea that John Yoshua has fallen out with Xi Jinping, right? Like, supposedly. That he's actually still supporting Xi Jinping, but just putting on a show on the surface. Well, this act is a bit too much. Everyone saw what I mentioned at this year's two sessions, right? People saw that video where John Yoshua literally had his back to Xi Jinping, openly showing contempt and ignoring Xi Jinping. If you say they're just putting on a show, and it's gotten to this level, so public, I just feel like this is a bit much. It's just way too theatrical, right? At least for me. I've watched that video many times. I think John Yoshua's reaction was real. His expression and everything. He genuinely doesn't get along with Xi Jinping. And honestly, there's no need for all that. Even if you say John Yoshua and Xi Jinping are openly and secretly fighting on the surface, you still have to show respect to Xi Jinping, right? The more you're at odds behind the scenes, as long as you haven't completely fallen out, the more you need to act respectful on the surface. That way, Xi Jinping won't notice anything. Inside and outside the party, you don't want to draw that kind of attention. As for Zhang Ruixia, she can openly show her contempt for Xi Jinping like that. So I think, if you want Xi Jinping to go along with this kind of act, and keep it up for such a long time, from last year all the way until now, I just feel like the chances of that are relatively low, right? But that's just my personal opinion, just for your reference. It might not be correct. Hey, if any of you have other thoughts on this, you're welcome to point out a few things. But in short, I think there's no need to worry too much. If the CCP wants to launch a blitzkrieg against Taiwan, it's actually pretty unlikely, really unlikely. The moment they make a move, it's not just the US, the whole world. So many countries have satellites watching that area, right? They're all keeping an eye on it. So, especially after what happened with Russia, after the lesson of Russia using military exercises as a cover to fully invade Ukraine, everyone is watching even more closely now. So I really think there's no need to worry about this issue. That's just my personal opinion. All right, thank you all so much for your feedback. That's the end of today's program, and we'll see you next time.