The Southern Theater Command also avoids mentioning "Chairman Xi"; Xi’s personal safety is beyond his control

A Scene from a CCP Meeting: The Chairperson on Stage Speaks in a Droning Buzz, Perfect for Helping Me Fall Asleep. (Guang Niu/Getty Images)

[People News] On Saturday, December 14th, the front page of the CCP’s PLA Daily published six news articles. In the top-right position of the masthead—the most important news of the day—was "Xi Jinping Hears Report from John Lee." Below that was a report discussing some Americans’ views on Xi’s congratulatory letter to the U.S.-China Business Council's 2024 annual gala dinner. Following this was another piece about a second congratulatory letter from Xi.

In other words, three front-page articles highlighted Xi Jinping, as is customary to emphasize his importance. The news items below the masthead and in the left column included: "The 74th Group Army Conducts Year-End Work Summary, Focusing on a Problem-Oriented Approach—'Reflective' Summaries to Clarify Work Directions and Goals for the New Year," "A Regiment of the Beijing Garrison Studies and Implements the Spirit of the 20th Central Committee’s Third Plenary Session," and a commentary marking the 87th anniversary of the Nanjing Massacre.

What is intriguing, however, is that the reports on the 74th Army and the Beijing Garrison did not mention the term "Chairman Xi" even once. Isn’t this quite unusual?

The 74th Army is under the Southern Theater Command, and its commander, Wu Yanan, is reportedly someone who was promoted by the current Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), Zhang Youxia, around late July to early August. Previously published PLA Daily reports have also shown that units under the Northern, Central, and Western Theater Commands similarly avoided mentioning "Chairman Xi" when organizing studies on the Central Military Commission's political work conference or implementing the Third Plenary Session of the CCP. These repeated instances provide evidence that Xi’s military authority has been undermined or weakened. It is highly likely that Xi has already lost control over the military. On the surface, the "boss" of the Chinese military appears to be Zhang Youxia, who currently seems to have control over the Northern, Central, Western, and Southern Theater Commands. The omission of Xi’s name in statements from these commands clearly reflects instructions from the military’s high leadership.

It is worth noting that in the PLA Daily report on the year-end summary of a brigade in the 74th Army, a specific phrase was emphasized: "Adhering to a problem-oriented approach, guiding all levels to conduct 'reflective' reviews and thoroughly identify problems and shortcomings." That is to say, "while achievements and highlights should be acknowledged, problems must also be identified and critically examined." If this were applied to the top levels of the CCP, wouldn’t it also be quite fitting?

Looking at the article titled "A Regiment of the Beijing Garrison Studies and Implements the Spirit of the 20th Central Committee’s Third Plenary Session," its core message is about "reform and innovation." Notably, as early as November 13th, PLA Daily's front page carried a report titled "The Beijing Garrison Deeply Studies and Implements the Spirit of the CMC Political Work Conference," which mentioned "Chairman Xi" only once. This contrasts with the statements of loyalty to Xi made by Garrison troops in July when studying the CMC meeting's spirit. By November, the object of loyalty had shifted to "the Party" rather than "Chairman Xi," once again confirming Xi’s diminishing control over the military.

Now, the Beijing Garrison troops don’t even bother mentioning "Chairman Xi," which shows that the personnel controlling the Garrison are no longer Xi’s people. Xi’s personal safety is now completely beyond his control.

On the 14th, the PLA Daily front page featured two military news items in the left column, both entirely omitting "Chairman Xi," while the right column focused on Xi’s official activities. Doesn’t such an arrangement give food for thought?

Why do I say this? Let’s compare this to the PLA Daily front page from December 19th, 2023. That day, the front page published seven reports, four of which were related to Xi. The masthead article was also titled "Xi Jinping Hears Report from John Lee," and below it were reports such as "Xi Hears Report from Ho Iat-seng" and "The 80th Group Army Innovates Assessment and Evaluation Models."

The main headline in the left column below the masthead was "Cultural Talents Thrive in 'Battlefield Classrooms,'" a report that mentioned "Xi Thought" ten times and "Chairman Xi" twice. Below that were news articles about Xi’s congratulatory letter and the publication of one of his books. At the very bottom was a report on the "Implementation of Procedures for Military Academies to Enroll Ordinary High School Graduates," which mentioned "Xi Thought" once and "Xi’s Strong Military Thought" once.

In other words, even when Xi had no direct involvement in military activities, military media would still take care to highlight "Chairman Xi" and "Xi Thought" in their reports. However, a year later, military media now completely disregard this practice and openly display such a contrast. Do we still need to ask about the CCP leader’s current status within the military? 

(First published by People News)