Xi Suddenly Revives Jiang Zemin? Party Elders Demand Zhang’s Release — Taiwan Endgame Begins?

Xi Jinping suddenly summons the spirit of Jiang Zemin, staging a display of unprecedented scale, while at the same time cracking down hard and gagging public opinion over the death of former Premier Zhu Rongji. The public's move to mourn the old to scold the new, combined with a humiliating diplomatic slap from the West, is pushing Beijing into a state of extreme insecurity and panic. Internal undercurrents are boiling over as party elders show their hand, demanding the release of the two sea-anchoring needles, Jiang Yuxia and Liu Zhenli, while the prospect of an attack on Taiwan risks becoming a life-or-death gamble that could bring down the entire regime. What is really happening behind the Far East's wall? Let's decode it together right now. Xi Jinping Summons the Spirit of Jiang Zemin While cracking down on the public mourning Zhu Rongji, an extremely bizarre political drama has recently been unfolding in Zhongnanhai. On one side, former Premier Zhu Rongji has passed away, and the authorities are working hard to suppress public mourning online, coldly clamping down on public discourse. On the other side, the Great Hall of the People is resounding with drums and gongs, as General Secretary Xi Jinping personally presides over a high-profile commemoration for Jiang Zemin. China Central Television even aired, for the first time, a special 12-episode documentary series back-to-back in primetime to build momentum. Yet the harder this political propaganda tries, the more glaring flaws it exposes. Although Zhu Rongji was also part of the system, his anti-corruption stance while in office, his push for reform and opening up culminating in China's WTO accession, and his famous line about preparing a hundred coffins earned him a certain lasting reputation among the public. Now, people are using the mourning of Zhu Rongji as an outlet for strong discontent over the current economic collapse and political regression. This wave of mourning the old to scold the new has left Zhongnanhai sitting on pins and needles. As a result, domestic social media platforms have imposed airtight censorship, banning the topic and restricting comments, in an effort to stamp out the public's flame of mourning. But the harder Beijing suppresses it, the more glaring the contrast from the international side becomes. Japanese Prime Minister Takaichi Sane and Foreign Minister Motegi Toshimitsu quickly sent condolence messages to Xi Jinping, Li Cheng, and Wang Yi, respectively, expressing deep sorrow over Zhu Rongji's passing and highly praising his important contributions to China-Japan relations and economic reform. In addition, the Singapore government and former Apple CEO Tim Cook also posted tributes to Zhu Rongji. Even Bo Guagua, son of Xi Jinping's late political rival Bo Xilai, joined the trend, posting that Zhu Rongji was a role model in his father's eyes and that his grandmother, too, used to be glued to the TV watching Zhu Rongji. At a time when the Xi administration is pushing wolf-warrior diplomacy and China-Japan relations have hit rock bottom, it is precisely the foreign politicians who most irritate Beijing, who are now paying international respect to a spent former premier whom Beijing has deliberately snubbed. This silent diplomatic slap has laid bare the regime's insecurity and narrow-mindedness. What is most worth pondering is this. Why would Xi Jinping choose this exact moment, going against popular sentiment, to so loudly summon the spirit of Jiang, a figure already nailed to history's pillar of shame? During his time in power, Jiang Zemin ceded vast stretches of territory to Russia, used the slogan Quietly Get Rich to lead the entire party into wholesale corruption, and was the very architect of the brutal crackdown on faith-based groups such as Falun Gong. Among the public, he has long carried a poor reputation, privately mocked as Jiang the Devil or the Toad. When Xi Jinping first came to power, he used the banner of anti-corruption to purge Jiang's faction. And yet now, as the economy collapses across the board, diplomacy is isolated on every front, and internal power crises surround him on all sides, he is holding a grand ceremony at the Great Hall of the People to summon the spirit, earnestly forging a deep spiritual and political bond with the heavily indicted Jiang the Devil. This grand showcasing of Jiang cannot save Xi's collapsing economy, nor can it win back a disintegrating party. Instead, it lets the clearly just how cornered and panicked he really is. Could Jiang and Liu Bei reinstated? What is truly keeping Xi Jinping up at night is that, according to a report from Taiwan-based commentator Du Zheng, party elders are demanding he release Jiang Yuxia and Liu Zhenli. This information is currently hard to verify and cannot be confirmed as true or false. But Jiang Yuxia and Liu Zhenli, reported to have fallen from grace since January 24th, still have not been formally stripped of their military posts, nor removed from their status as National People's Congress delegates. Du Zheng suggests this may be linked to resistance within the party and the military. The CCP's decision to hold the fourth plenary session in October under the theme of Comprehensive Strict Party Discipline may well be Xi's way of dealing with dissenting voices within the party and the military. If Du Zheng's information is accurate, then the party elders have already shown their hand against Xi Jinping. They call Jiang and Liu sea-anchoring needles, a reference to Journey to the West, where the needle was originally the treasure that anchored the East Sea Dragon Palace, later becoming Sun Wukong's as-you-wish golden-hooped rod. When Sun Wukong wielded the sea-anchoring needle, the entire Dragon Palace would shake as if it were about to collapse. By comparing Jiang and Liu to the sea-anchoring needle, Liu Yuan and others are, in effect, openly telling Xi Jinping, pull out Jiang Yuxia and Liu Zhenli, and the military will become unstable, even spin out of control. That's because the two of them are among the last senior CCP generals with genuine combat experience and extensive networks of connections. In other words, even though Xi Jinping is chairman of the Central Military Commission, he does not command the same standing within the military that they do. If he keeps purging at this rate, removing the most respected and the most professionally battle-tested officers alike, a genuine military crisis will follow. Looking at the current situation, despite being deep in crisis, Xi Jinping still holds power, in fact, still holds enormous power. Under these circumstances, Liu Yuan, long retired, has no way to force his hand. If Xi agrees to release Jiang Yuxia, then Jiang and Liu Zhenli could very well be reinstated, which would effectively mean Xi Jinping loses all his power. But it's also possible he could step down relatively peacefully without major upheaval. On the other hand, if he continues to dig in, he will not only offend factions within the military, but also the red second-generation figures standing behind Jiang Yuxia and Liu Zhenli, as well as the CCP's party elders. That would become Xi Jinping's greatest and most enduring threat, a bomb he buried himself, one that could go off at any time. Xi Jinping's attack on Taiwan could become a life-or-death gamble for the regime. With internal rifts widening, factions applying pressure, and the military adrift, will Xi Jinping recklessly launch an external war to divert attention from domestic discontent, or would an attack on Taiwan itself become the life-or-death gamble that buries the entire regime? A lengthy article in Britain's The Sun points out that a full-scale invasion of Taiwan by the Chinese Communist Party would be a life-or-death gamble, and could turn into Beijing's biggest mistake. Former British diplomat Peter Poon, who has more than 20 years of experience on China and Taiwan affairs, argues that if Xi Jinping is preparing an attack on Taiwan, he would at minimum need to be certain the People's Liberation Army could secure a quick victory, and could withstand severe sanctions from Western countries in a scenario where the United States is unable to provide timely aid. Peng Chaosi, a researcher at Britain's Royal United Services Institute a UK defense and security think tank, notes that if the PLA were to launch a large-scale amphibious assault, it would need to mass huge numbers of troops, supplies, and air support beforehand. Such preparations would be very difficult to conceal, and would amount to a very clear warning, giving the United States and other countries time to act and reinforce Taiwan. Beyond the keeping military deployments secret, Chinese forces would have to cross roughly 161 kilometers of the Taiwan Strait to reach a heavily defended island, with only about 13 beaches suitable for a landing. And even if the PLA sent in airborne troops, they would still face a high risk of being shot down by air defenses and drones. Should Beijing instead resort to pressure tactics, such as blockading Taiwan, it would also pay a steep price. The Taiwan Strait is a vital waterway linking East Asia to Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, with ships from around the world passing through daily. If Beijing were to blockade these key trade routes, it would seriously disrupt capital flows into Asia, including into China itself. The resulting severe economic downturn and mass unemployment in China could, in turn, worsen domestic unrest. Even if China were to successfully occupy Taiwan, maintaining control afterward would be far from easy. Beijing could face guerrilla-style resistance from Taiwanese forces for months or even years, and a prolonged conflict with mounting casualties could intensify internal pressure on China. And if Xi Jinping's attack on Taiwan were to fail outright, China's economy could collapse, the public could turn furious over the deaths of their children in the war, the resulting economic chaos could trigger mass unemployment, Xi Jinping's credibility in running the country could be utterly destroyed, and he could even be swept away by resistance from within China itself. Peng Chaoci states bluntly that attacking Taiwan would be an enormous risk for Xi Jinping, adding, I would be quite surprised if he acted without near 100% certainty of victory in Taiwan. Peng Chaoci believes that until the above conditions are genuinely met, China's plan to seize Taiwan by force will remain a secondary option. Beijing is more likely to keep pressuring Taiwan and its people through other means, trying to convince the Taiwanese that unification is inevitable and cannot be stopped. What do you think the future holds for Beijing? Leave your thoughts in the comments below. 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