Xi Jinping’s ‘ouster’ wildfire storms internet
By Manish Anand
New Delhi, September 24: China has no free press. Disbelief is natural when any information emerges from China, as is the rumoured coup against President Xi Jinping and his subsequent house arrest.
The US-based Chinese commentator Jenifer Zeng in her 26-minute long YouTube video sought to piece together the immediate incidents to build a story of a possible ‘something is not normal in China’.
Foreign affairs commentator in India were cautious in their reactions, and mostly were in disbelief over the twiterrati going for celebrations over the Xi Jinping house arrest rumour.
Zeng essentially built her story on the basis of incidents such as Xi not attending in-person or virtually a key Chinese military meeting that he has never missed, his skipping the leaders’ dinner in Samarkand on the conclusion of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Summit, presence of former northern zone military chief Li Qiaoming (who was present in the military commission meeting), and no references to the Chinese President in the speeches of some of the top functionaries of the Communist country.
Evidences, she cited, that were against the hypothesis included death sentences to a couple of a top ranking functionaries as recently as September 23, possible promotion of Qiaoming and so on.
Also, China is under strict ‘Zero Covid Policy’, and Xi may be in quarantine upon his arrival from Samarkand.
With there being no free press, outside world consumes only such information which is approved by the Communist regime in Beijing, while key observers seek to decipher the significance of messages posted on social media wit videos.
China has banned Twitter, but the country has its own version of micro-blogging social media platform.
In Samarkand, Xi was lackluster. Prime Minister Narendra Modi stayed away from him, and denied scopes for any photographs with Xi to circulate, as India drew a firm line that bilateral relations cannot be normal until border is stable.
That was despite China asking its military commanders to agree for disengagement in the Gogra Hotsprings area in Eastern Ladakh.
Xi is heading into a key Communist Congress next month to further cement his leadership in China. But under the watch of Xi China is now faced with global isolation, while his pet project Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) failed to give Beijing a global economic domination.
In contrast, Quad is pumping the war-chest, with an ever eager Japan and the US, to counter the financial might of China, with 12 countries joining the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework Cooperation (IPEFC).
Additionally, ‘One China Policy’ has come under severe test after the US Congress House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan.
‘Zero Covid Policy’ has also caused unprecedented hardships to the people in China, and the Communist regime in Beijing is not expected to enjoy popular support.
But the possibility of a coup against Xi seems a distant possibility since his firm grip over the Chinese army, which is known to be subservient to the Communist party.
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