CCP and Taiwan

25,461 Views | 77 Replies | Last: 19 min ago by Werewolf
Werewolf
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Much upheaval and unrest in China which is split at least 3 ways with Xi, elements of the CCP/PRA, and the Falun Gong.
Werewolf
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#Devolution #Expand Your Thinking #Eye of The Storm #TheGreatAwakening
Werewolf
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We are at war w Xi and the CCP.

#Devolution #Expand Your Thinking #Eye of The Storm #TheGreatAwakening
Werewolf
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#Devolution #Expand Your Thinking #Eye of The Storm #TheGreatAwakening
Werewolf
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#Devolution #Expand Your Thinking #Eye of The Storm #TheGreatAwakening
Werewolf
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CCP moves in our backyard

Werewolf
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Putting this here so it does not clog the Trump thread

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Werewolf
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Xi's Military Purge Exposes Deep Divisions Over Taiwan and Command Authority
Insiders say the removal of two senior generals reflects internal resistance over Taiwan strategy, pandemic leadership, and Xi's tightening grip on the PLA.

Military delegates walk on Tiananmen Square as they arrive at the opening session of the Chinese Communist Party's five-yearly Congress at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Nov. 8, 2012. Ed Jones/AFP via Getty Images

Beijing on Jan. 24 announced that Central Military Commission (CMC) Vice Chairman Zhang Youxia and Joint Staff Department Chief Liu Zhenli were under investigation, a move quickly followed by an unusually harsh editorial in the People's Liberation Army's (PLA) official newspaper.

The severity of the editorial's language, coupled with the political stature of Zhang in particular, has led analysts and military insiders to view the case not as a routine anti-corruption action but as a watershed moment in Xi's ongoing effort to consolidate absolute control over the military amid mounting internal resistance.

Pandemic Anger Among the Ranks
According to a PLA insider who spoke to The Epoch Times on condition of anonymity for safety reasons, the conflict between Xi and Zhang was not sudden but the result of years of accumulated resentmentmuch of it from China's draconian COVID-19 lockdown era.

Senior officers, both active and retired, were deeply dissatisfied with Xi's leadership during the pandemic, the insider said. While the military was mobilized across the country, Xi himself avoided frontline exposure. Officers privately criticized what they described as his extreme risk aversion, accusing him of prioritizing personal safety while still seeking an unprecedented third term.

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Xi's only widely publicized visit to a military hospital during the pandemic took place not in a working ward but in a large hall, where he spoke with staff via video link while frontline medical personnel worked elsewhere. This fueled widespread cynicism within the PLA ranks, according to the insider.

"This wasn't just active-duty officers," the insider said. "Even retired personnel and military families would complain privately'What has he turned the country into?'"

Taiwan's Significance
While the pandemic intensified leadership tensions, the insider said the Taiwan issue lies at the heart of the power struggle.

According to the insider, Zhang and a majority of senior PLA commanders opposed launching a military invasion of Taiwan, warning that a real war would entail catastrophic casualties and equipment losses.
"All the effort in building a service branch could be wiped out in a single campaign," the insider said, summarizing the view of many officers. Military drills could portray strength in peacetime, but actual war carries risks on an entirely different scale.

Xi's push for "reunification" with Taiwan through force is widely seen as driven less by military strategy than by political survival. According to the insider, Xi fears that stepping down would expose his family to corruption investigations and political retaliation, leaving him determined to secure a historic achievementsuch as unifying with Taiwanto legitimize his continued rule.

Soldiers prepare amphibious assault vehicles after a landing drill during a simulation of China's People's Liberation Army invading the island, in Pingtung, Taiwan, on July 28, 2022. Annabelle Chih/Getty Images
Anti-Corruption as a Political Weapon

The insider acknowledged that corruption is widespread within the PLA, including the buying and selling of ranks.

However, the insider argues that Xi's current anti-corruption campaign has become a selective political tool. Commanders who fall out of favor are targeted, while systemic responsibilityultimately resting with the top leadershipis ignored.

The insider also rejected a Wall Street Journal report alleging that Zhang leaked nuclear secrets to the United States, calling such claims "pure fabrication" designed to create pressure and project the illusion that the military is fully under Xi's control.

An Unusual Silence From the Ranks

Other China observers pointed out that perhaps the most striking development following Zhang's downfall has been what did not happen.

Lai Jianping, a former Beijing lawyer and president of the Canada-based Federation for a Democratic China, told The Epoch Times on Jan. 29 that the PLA and regional units have shown an unusually muted responsedeparting sharply from the typical wave of loyalty pledges and denunciations that follow the purge of a senior official.

Lai said the political shock of Zhang's case approaches the scale of Mao-era purges, noting that Zhang occupied a position second only to one within the military and had long been regarded as a trusted ally of Xi.
"That [someone like Zhang] could be taken down suggests this is not a simple corruption case," Lai said. "It fits the logic of elite power struggle or structural reorganization at the very top."

The absence of public alignment, he added, reflects deep uncertainty within the regime. Some officials question the political legitimacy of the investigation, while others fear the situation could still reverse. Most are simply wary of becoming collateral damage in a widening power struggle.

Lai argued that the collective silence points to a troubling reality for Xi, which is that his actions have not elicited an overwhelming and unconditional response of loyalty from within the Party.
Instead, the episode has exposed declining cohesion at the center of power and a growing erosion of political trust.

The 2027 Taiwan Timeline
A Jan. 26 analysis by the D.C.-based think tank Jamestown Foundation supports the view that the Taiwan issue is central to the power struggle. The report noted that Xi has demanded the PLA be capable of invading Taiwan by 2027, a benchmark that Zhang and Liu viewed as unrealistic. Their internal planning suggested a much longer timeline, possibly extending to 2035.

According to the report, Zhang's approach to joint operations training failed to meet Xi's accelerated timetable. As the final training cycle before 2027 began this month, disagreements escalated from planning disputes into outright noncompliance, directly challenging Xi's authority.

The removal of Zhang and Liu, the report argued, reflects Xi's prioritization of political loyalty over professional military judgment. While this may heighten internal instability, it does not alter Xi's determination to meet the 2027 deadline.
#Devolution #Expand Your Thinking #Eye of The Storm #TheGreatAwakening
 
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