Fourth Plenary Session Opens With No Photos and Only 100 Words Released — A Political Bloodbath May Be Imminent

The black-and-white image from the CCP's "Eleventh" reception resembles rows of large floral wreaths found in a funeral home. (Video screenshot)

[People News] Today (October 20), the CCP’s Fourth Plenary Session opened in Beijing’s Zhongnanhai under an atmosphere filled with tension and fear, amid widespread social control across the country. Although such meetings traditionally center on personnel reshuffles, this session began instead with a report on economic planning — a façade of normalcy that cannot conceal the intense and dangerous internal power struggle behind the scenes.

As of 2 p.m. Beijing time, state media coverage of the opening consisted of a single sentence of barely 100 words: “Party leader Xi Jinping delivered the work report…” — and not even a single photograph.

Outside observers note that even in the Party’s bland language, traces of a brutal power struggle can be discerned. Just two days before the meeting, the Chinese military confirmed the months-long overseas rumors that nine generals — including Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC) He Weidong — had been purged. This unprecedented collective collapse of the military’s upper ranks, while long anticipated, still shocked many.

Independent commentator Cai Shenkun revealed that not only those nine generals but also an additional four generals, nine lieutenant generals, and fifteen major generals had been dismissed. The list reportedly includes Minister of Equipment Development Xu Xueqiang, Deputy Chief of the Joint Staff Department Xu Qiliang, Rocket Force Political Commissar Xu Xisheng, National Defense University President Xiao Tianliang, and former Office Director Zhong Shaojun.

“According to what I’ve learned, there are still over a hundred generals queued up, under investigation. The so-called ‘Xi family army’ formed after the 20th Party Congress has basically been wiped out,” Cai said.

Cai also disclosed credible reports that He Weidong and He Hongjun are already dead — He Weidong allegedly from sudden heart failure after a kidney transplant, and He Hongjun by suicide.

Cai, who has connections within the CCP’s upper echelons, has repeatedly broken stories of senior Party officials’ downfalls that were later confirmed by Beijing — including the recently ousted Miao Hua, He Hongjun, Wang Xiubin, Lin Xiangyang, Qin Shutong, Yuan Huazhi, Wang Houbin, and Wang Chunning. His latest leaks, listing the additional four generals and nine lieutenant generals now dismissed, have already been circulating abroad, lending his information significant credibility.

A review of the ousted officers’ backgrounds shows nearly all were Xi’s close associates — many personally promoted by him. This raises the question: who arrested them?

By normal logic, Xi wouldn’t destroy his own network. Analysts therefore speculate that anti-Xi factions, led by Zhang Youxia and Party elders, took the initiative. However, on October 18, PLA Daily, controlled by Zhang Youxia, published an editorial titled “Unswervingly Carry the Military Anti-Corruption Fight to the End.” It explicitly stated that the purge of the nine generals was “a decision of the Party Central Committee,” and repeatedly invoked Xi’s name — “with Comrade Xi Jinping at the core,” “obey Chairman Xi’s command,” and urging the military to internalize and implement “2442” (“the Two Establishments, Four Consciousnesses, Four Confidences, and Two Upholds”), and the CMC Chairman Responsibility System.

What is “2442”? In essence, it’s Xi Jinping Thought packaged in numbers.

If Zhang Youxia and the Party elders were truly moving to weaken Xi at this plenary session, they would have no need to flatter him so publicly — doing so would only make the ideological transition harder for the Party, the military, and the nation. But if the purge wasn’t initiated by anti-Xi forces, the logic still doesn’t add up.

The opaque black box of Zhongnanhai’s internal politics leaves the real cause of these purges a mystery.

Cai Shenkun stated that internal briefings circulated among deputy military region–level officers labeled Miao Hua and others as members of an “anti-Party group,” not as ordinary corruption cases — corruption charges were merely for public consumption. The reality, he said, is that this is a comprehensive political purge.

Generals reportedly under investigation but not yet officially announced include: Liu Qingsong (Political Commissar of the Eastern Theater Command), Wang Haijiang (Commander of the Western Theater Command), Huang Ming (Commander of the Northern Theater Command), Wang Qiang (Commander of the Central Theater Command), Xu Deqing (Political Commissar of the Central Theater Command), Han Weiguo (former Commander of the Army), Qin Shengxiang (former Navy Political Commissar), Wang Renhua (Secretary of the CMC Political and Legal Commission), and Zhang Hongbing (Political Commissar of the Armed Police).

Commentator Professor Zhang Tianliang noted on his media channel that Zhang Youxia, judging by his record and standing, is likely Xi’s “Li Qiang within the military” — a loyal executor, not an opponent.

He suggested a more logical explanation: Xi, seeking historical glory through military conquest of Taiwan to cement his indefinite rule, focused intensely on frontline units such as the 31st Army in Xiamen. But that scrutiny exposed deep corruption within the military hierarchy — corruption that, in Xi’s view, made victory impossible. Alarmed, Xi launched an internal anti-corruption probe, only to discover widespread collusion and mutual protection among officers. This united front was then deemed “anti-Party,” becoming a political purge.

Taiwan’s Up Media published an article by independent writer Du Zheng, suggesting that Xi’s purge of his own protégés looks more like others forced him to take down his own men.

Since taking power at the 18th Party Congress, Xi used “anti-corruption” campaigns to crush Jiang Zemin’s faction and dismantle cliques like the “secretary gang” and “petroleum gang.” Later, he weakened even loyalists who had helped him consolidate power — such as Liu Yuan and Wang Qishan — out of paranoia. In doing so, Xi antagonized nearly every camp: Party reformers, the red aristocracy, vested interest groups, and dissenters angered by his failed reforms, unfinished projects, “wolf warrior” diplomacy, and extravagant foreign spending. Now, he stands besieged on all sides.

Another theory claims Xi suffered another stroke around October 10, prompting Party elders to prepare a successor to preserve the regime. But Xi allegedly refused to relinquish power, leading to the mass purge of his inner circle right before the plenary session — severely weakening his faction and damaging his authority.

Shen Mingshi, a research fellow at Taiwan’s Institute for National Defense and Security Research, told The Epoch Times that the anti-Xi or elder factions may use this to question Xi’s leadership, accusing him of “appointing the wrong people” and mismanaging the military — a pretext to demand his resignation as CMC Chairman.

Whatever the case, the Fourth Plenary Session is cloaked in blades and shadows. A bloody internal struggle within the CCP is clearly brewing. What happens next will become evident when the meeting concludes in three days.

(First published by People News) △