Xi Fails 4th Term? Western Command Demands Zhang’s Release, 30 Generals Vanish

The Zhang Yuxia case is becoming a ticking time bomb that could directly threaten Xi Jinping's hold on power at the 21st Party Congress. More strikingly, over 30 retired senior generals were reportedly absent from the PLA anniversary ceremony. A conspicuous silence as Xi intensifies his purge. Elsewhere in China, an entire county appears to be shielding a fugitive who has evaded capture for 10 days, leaving some 50,000 police officers unable to catch him. So what is really happening inside China? What troubles Xi most? The Zhang Yuxia affair. With the fifth plenum approaching and a behind-the-scenes personnel battle underway ahead of the 21st Congress, infighting within the party has grown increasingly intense. Speaking to the overseas Chinese-language outlet the Epoch Times, Cai Shenkun said the CCP's internal situation is clearly under strain. The fifth plenum is coming up. Yet more than half a year later, there is still no resolution on how the Zhang Yuxia case will be handled. A sign that the party leadership cannot reach consensus internally, or that the military is pushing back. Cai argued that even with Xi currently exercising such tight control over everything, his continued inability to resolve the Zhang Yuxia case would generate enormous pressure, potentially even posing a challenge to his ability to convene the fifth plenum, let alone to secure his continued tenure and full command of the CCP leadership at next year's 21st Congress. Yuan Hongbing, citing conscientious sources inside the CCP system, said, The Zhang Yuxia case is no ordinary case. Zhang belongs to the Red Second Generation, is a Xi confidant, and has been the military pillar Xi relied on most. Beyond that, the initial charges against him when he was detained were explicitly political, that Zhang gravely undermined party leadership over the military, gravely trampled on the authority of the Central Military Commission, and gravely betrayed the trust the party's central leadership placed in him. If Zhang truly committed such a serious act of political betrayal against the CCP and its logic of rule, what was his motive? If Xi cannot offer a satisfactory internal explanation, it will directly damage his standing within the party, with significant negative consequences for his prospects of reappointment at the 21st Congress. This, Yuan says, is the fundamental reason the Zhang Yuxia case still has no publicly announced conclusion. Yuan went on to detail steps he says Xi is now taking. First, Xi wants to pin the blame on Zhang for the wave of political purges and betrayals within his own faction since the 20th Congress, turning Zhang into a scapegoat for what would be framed as misjudgment and poor personnel decisions, Xi's current goal on the cognitive warfare and propaganda front. Second, the Zhang Yuxia case has triggered a strong backlash across the CCP's party, government, and military systems. From the children of senior officials to a number of retired party officials, many privately believe Xi's handling of Zhang was unjust. So Xi is now moving against this potential pool of resistance. In practical terms, that means a political purge of officials he views as potentially dangerous, particularly retired officials. In other words, he wants to strip away their networks entirely, turning them into tigers without claws. According to sources inside the CCP system, the figures Xi regards as potentially dangerous include Wang Qishan, Zeng Qinghong, Zhu Rongji, Li Ruihuan, Wen Jiabao, as well as leading representatives of the Red Second Generation such as Liu Yuan and Deng Pufang. This is also why, over a fairly extended recent period, a large number of provincial and ministerial-level officials, deputy provincial and deputy ministerial-level officials, and even some bureau-level officials within the CCP system have been purged. These officials all had some connection, as former secretaries, subordinates, or through close working or personal ties, to the political figures Xi regards as major potential threats. Third, this August, to mark the 100th anniversary of the birth of former CCP leader Jiang Zemin, Xi plans to hold a large-scale, solemn commemorative event. The aim is to project the illusion that every faction within the Party has rallied around Xi, creating a superficially harmonious political atmosphere to smooth the path for his reappointment at the 21st Congress. Fourth, ahead of August 1, 2027, the centenary of the founding of the People's Liberation Army, Xi is aiming to rebuild the PLA's command structures at multiple levels and across different branches. Xi himself has essentially dismantled those command structures, particularly in the aftermath of Jiang Yuxia's alleged political insurrection. Xi's purge within the PLA has now reportedly reached down to the colonel level, or brigade level, a deeply damaging campaign. He is therefore determined to complete the rebuilding of the PLA's multi-level, multi-branch command structures before the 2027 centenary, laying the groundwork for his ambition of lifetime rule to be affirmed at the 21st Congress. Just ahead of this year's Beidaihe conference, images circulating online showed, alongside a photo of Jiang Peili, wife of Wen Jiabao, captions referring to progress of the corruption investigation, and claims that jewels, diamonds, and gold were dug up beneath the waterproofing layer next to the swimming pool. The images also purported to show the status of the investigation into Wen Jiabao's son, daughter-in-law, and younger brother. Veteran journalist Guo Jun, speaking on Niu Tang Dynasty Television's Elite Forum program, said that while a great deal of hard-to-verify rumor has been circulating recently, such a flood of rumors is simply the inevitable by-product of the CCP's internal power struggle heating up, while the party leadership has yet to genuinely show its cards. US-based current affairs commentator Lee Muyam, on his personal media channel, argued the rumor is fabricated, and floated several possible motives behind whoever released it regarding the Wen and Hu families. The first possibility is simply chasing clicks and engagement. Though he considers this unlikely. The second is that anti-Xi forces within the party, including the Elders faction and the Communist Youth League faction, spread the rumor to create a sense of panic that Xi has lost control and is about to strike. Also considered unlikely. The third possibility is that the Jiang Zemin-Zeng Qinghong faction, which has long been at odds with Wen Jiabao, deliberately leaked the material to attack him. Lee considers this unlikely too, since after taking power, Xi came down far harder on the Jiang Zeng faction itself, so there would be little practical benefit for them in targeting the Wen family now. If they wanted to strike back, logic suggests they would aim at Xi directly. Lee considers a fourth possibility the most likely, that this is an information warfare operation launched by Xi's own faction. Every day in the run-up to the Fifth Plenum carries heightened sensitivity, and Wen Jiabao, seen as more reform-minded, has consistently taken a position at odds with Xi's approach. The most plausible explanation, in Lee's view, is that Xi's camp released the rumor to pressure Wen into backing off further opposition, to serve as a warning to other officials who might be inclined to resist, and simultaneously to divert public attention away from other matters currently being handled behind the scenes. Some online commentators noted earlier claims that Wen Jiabao was the anti-Xi faction's strongest political backer of Zhang Youxia. That claim cannot be verified, but the fact that his wife became the target of a sensational rumor right before a day suggests the CCP's internal power struggle is growing sharper by the day. With the 21st Congress approaching in 2027, directly tied to the question of Xi's reappointment, outside observers broadly expect Xi to keep purging internal dissent in the run-up, with elite infighting entering a new, intense phase. On July 31, 2026, China's Ministry of National Defense held a reception at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing to mark the so-called 99th anniversary of the founding of the PLA, with Defense Minister Dong Jun in attendance and delivering remarks. Online rumors claimed that Liu Yuan, Zhang Haiyang, and more than 30 other retired senior generals boycotted the reception in protest. Speaking to NTDTV, Tsai Sheng-kun said it was Xi himself who barred them from appearing. and military second-generation generals, as well as senior generals believed to currently be missing or sidelined and still under investigation, none of whom were permitted to attend the August 1 reception. Tsai said this reflects Xi's tight grip on power, and added that this year's Beidaihe conference is not expected to directly take up the Zhang Youxia matter. None of the above claims can currently be independently verified. Public anger boils over as unrest spreads. Xi Jinping is not only facing an increasingly fierce internal power struggle. Ordinary Chinese citizens also appear to be reaching their breaking point. In late July 2026, a 51-year-old man in Xiping County, Henan Province, allegedly killed a local official, reportedly a party secretary, along with seven members of his family. The suspect then hid in cornfields, while police offered a 50,000 yuan reward for information leading to his capture. Yet even after a week, no one reportedly turned him in. Instead, local farmers were said to have left food, water, and other supplies in cornfields and remote areas. Some even set fires in their fields and vegetable plots, allegedly to interfere with thermal cameras and surveillance. One person reportedly said, Others added, After 10 days, authorities had reportedly mobilized more than 50,000 police officers, along with bounty hunters from across the country. Thermal cameras, drones, helicopters, and special chemicals were deployed across the area. Convoys were even seen driving through farmland as part of the search. As the man remained at large, pressure on local authorities continued to mount. Officials eventually sent in harvesters to cut down even unripe corn for silage, apparently to eliminate potential hiding places. Eventually, authorities announced that the suspect had been captured and released video footage of the arrest. But netizens quickly pointed out several inconsistencies. How could he have hidden in cornfields for 10 days without any visible dirt or mud on him? Even half a day working in the fields would normally leave someone filthy. While villagers may have supplied him with food, his physical and mental condition also raised questions. After 10 days on the run under constant pressure, many expected him to look exhausted and sleep-deprived. If he had resisted or injured anyone before being captured, observers expected at least some signs of a forceful arrest. Yet he appeared largely unharmed, with no obvious bruises or injuries, and seemed unusually cooperative while being photographed by police. Reports suggested he had stolen an elderly man's vehicle, became lost while fleeing, and was caught after the owner alerted police, implying that officers intercepted him on a road. Yet the released footage appeared to show the arrest taking place inside a cornfield. Critics also noted that farmers had reportedly left cars, motorcycles, and three-wheelers throughout the area with keys, fuel, and food inside, raising doubts about why he would need to expose himself by stealing another vehicle. The detained man looked somewhat similar to the person in the wanted photo, but some viewers believed there were noticeable differences in appearance. This has fueled even more speculation online. Some believe the real fugitive may have been quietly spared or helped escape by members of a search team. Others suspect that, after mobilizing such enormous resources for 10 days without success, the authorities faced too much embarrassment and may have used a stand-in to bring the manhunt to an end. What do you think of these rumors? Leave a comment below. Thanks for watching and see you next time.