Beidaihe Meeting Commences, Beijing Garrison District Discusses Loyalty Without Mentioning Chairman Xi

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[People News] On August 3, the official media of the Communist Party of China reported that Cai Qi, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Secretary of the Central Secretariat, visited experts on summer vacation in Beidaihe. This visit marks the official commencement of the Beidaihe meeting, which has garnered significant attention from the outside world. Given the numerous issues that have arisen within the upper echelons of the Chinese Communist Party over the past year, this year's Beidaihe meeting is particularly noteworthy, as it is likely to determine personnel arrangements for the Fourth Plenary Session scheduled for October. As a result, various versions of leaks have surfaced overseas, indicating that the high-level power struggles in Beidaihe are quite intense.

On August 7, the PLA Daily and military network reported on a news item: "A certain unit of the Beijing Garrison District is deepening educational practice activities closely aligned with its mission—strengthening the foundation of loyalty and boosting the fighting spirit." The report is somewhat unusual, as it emphasises the need to "loyally fulfil responsibilities and missions" and "forge political loyalty." However, what stands out is the complete absence of the expressions of loyalty to "Chairman Xi" that were previously common before July of last year. There is no mention of "Chairman Xi," "strong military thought," or "Xi thought," etc. In summary, political loyalty and allegiance to "Chairman Xi" have entirely lost their connection.

On November 13 last year, the front page of the People's Liberation Army Daily featured an article concerning the Beijing Garrison District and loyalty, titled: "Beijing Garrison District Deeply Studies and Implements the Spirit of the Central Military Commission's Political Work Conference - Focusing on Special Missions to Cultivate Loyal Character." The article emphasises that "absolute loyalty to the Party is the Party's primary political requirement for the military," and describes how the garrison district guides its officers and soldiers to maintain political loyalty after studying the spirit of 'Chairman Xi's' speech at the Military Commission's political conference. Notably, 'Chairman Xi' is mentioned only once throughout the report.

Additionally, on July 16 last year, shortly after the Central Military Commission's political conference held in June, the front page of the People's Liberation Army Daily published a similar article titled "A Certain Regiment of the Beijing Garrison District Deeply Studies and Implements the Spirit of the Central Military Commission's Political Work Conference - Taking on the Mission of Loyalty and Practicing Based on Combat Positions." This report frequently mentions 'Chairman Xi,' with one officer stating: "With Chairman Xi at the helm, the goal of building the military in a hundred years will surely be achieved on schedule... We must firmly follow in thought, be absolutely loyal politically, sincerely love emotionally, and closely follow in action."

Furthermore, the report includes phrases such as "unifying thoughts and actions with the important speech spirit and meeting deployment requirements of Chairman Xi," "Chairman Xi has succinctly summarised the political military strategy of the new era as 'Ten Clarifications,' which is rich in connotation and complete in system... We must integrate the study and implementation of Chairman Xi's important speech spirit with investigation and research..." and "We must always remember Chairman Xi's instruction to 'maintain a high state of alert and fulfil our responsibilities well.'"

In just over a year, the military newspaper has transitioned from a fervent loyalty to Xi Jinping to a loyalty to the Party, initially mentioning 'Chairman Xi' only in passing, and now omitting any mention of him altogether. What does this signify? This shift is particularly noteworthy during the Beidaihe meeting period when the military newspaper released such news.

According to reports, the Beijing Garrison District is under the command of the General Staff of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Army and is directly overseen by the Central Military Commission of the CCP. Its primary responsibilities include ensuring the security of the capital, protecting the safety of CCP leaders, and, during wartime, facilitating the transfer or evacuation of central agencies, defending against foreign threats, counter-terrorism, and riot control. Consequently, the Beijing Garrison District is often referred to as the 'Imperial Forest Army.'

There is a common saying that controlling the Beijing Garrison District is akin to having half of Beijing under one's control. The commander of the Beijing Garrison District has traditionally been appointed by the chairman of the CCP Military Commission, who selects a trusted individual for the role. Fu Wenhua, who has been the commander since 2020, is a former subordinate of Zhang Youxia, the vice chairman of the Military Commission. Reports indicate that during this year's Two Sessions, he was reassigned as the deputy commander of the Armed Police Force and promoted to lieutenant general, but there has been no official announcement regarding his successor as commander of the Garrison District.

However, the recent statement from a unit within the Beijing Garrison District, which notably does not mention Xi, suggests that the new commander is certainly not someone promoted by Xi. If that were the case, they would not neglect to uphold 'Chairman Xi.' The military newspaper's intentional release of discussions regarding loyalty from the Beijing Garrison District during the Beidaihe period appears to send a message to the outside world: amidst the mix of true and false revelations abroad, it is an undeniable fact that Xi has lost power. As Xi's trusted military allies are systematically removed, the so-called 'counterattack' by Xi is also revealed to be misinformation.

(First published by the People News) △