Xi Jinping Has Lost Public Support; Netizens Hope for an Anti-Xi Military Mutiny

Xi Jinping Has Lost Public Support; Netizens Hope for an Anti-Xi Military Mutiny

People News] Since the official announcement that Zhang Youxia has been detained, rumors have surged online about large-scale unusual movements within the Chinese military, with multiple group armies allegedly assembling or advancing toward Beijing. In particular, claims that key units such as the 82nd Group Army (Baoding), 83rd Group Army (Xinxiang), 79th Group Army (Liaoyang), and 80th Group Army (Weifang) had already reached Beijing and surrounding areas before January 27 — along with reports that more distant group armies (81st, 78th, 72nd, 73rd, 77th, 76th) had each dispatched one to two brigades toward Beijing by rail or highway — have sparked intense discussion and eager anticipation among Chinese and overseas netizens.

The core narrative of these rumors is that serious divisions have emerged within the military. Some group armies are allegedly no longer taking orders from a single leader, but instead moving toward the capital under various pretexts — including “rescuing Zhang Youxia” or “expressing a stance” — in order to pressure the central guard units and other elite forces to abandon their loyalty and “switch sides” or “surrender.” Netizens interpret this as evidence that Xi Jinping has completely lost the support of the military, and that the regime’s legitimacy is on the verge of collapse.

Based on publicly available information, circulating videos, and online disclosures, there have indeed been multiple instances of unusual military vehicle and armored convoy movements around Beijing since the second half of 2025, particularly involving the 82nd Group Army in Baoding (formerly the 38th Army, known as the “Ten-Thousand-Year Army”). Around the Fourth Plenum and other major political meetings, images of “military vehicles entering Beijing” or “tanks passing Chang’an Avenue at night” have repeatedly surfaced. Overseas self-media and posts on X have directly linked these scenes to “overthrowing Xi,” “military mutiny,” or “coup.” Some commentators bluntly state that Xi’s policies, economic missteps, expanding anti-corruption campaign, and diplomatic isolation have alienated the military from top to bottom. Soldiers and mid- to lower-level officers, they argue, have long accumulated resentment and are now using various “movements toward Beijing” as a way to vent and take sides.

Some netizens have expressed their anticipation in vivid terms:

“Finally, we’re hearing gunfire! Let the bullets fly for a while!”
“Core Xi has long been deserted by all. The military isn’t stupid — who would die for one man?”
“Once Zhang Youxia falls, Xi’s faction collapses. The whole country is counting down.”
“At this level of losing public support, it would be strange if the military didn’t rebel.”

This mood of “hoping for mutiny” reflects the deep disappointment and sense of powerlessness many people feel toward the current system. Long-term information controls, economic downturn, and tightened social control have led some to place their hopes in the traditional notion that “political power grows out of the barrel of a gun.” Rumors about “distant group armies symbolically sending troops” and “pressuring the central guards to surrender soon” are interpreted as signs that some kind of “anti-Xi alliance” may already exist within the military, waiting only for a trigger or the sound of gunfire.

Of course, most of these rumors remain unverified, and many details contradict each other (such as timing, scale, and purpose). The CCP authorities have so far remained silent or dismissed such movements as “routine exercises” or “combat readiness adjustments.” Yet the more the authorities avoid discussion, the more speculation and emotions rise among the public. Netizens share videos and screenshots while commenting, “It all depends on these few days,” and “Once gunfire starts, a new era begins.”

Whether the outcome proves to be all thunder and no rain, or whether dramatic change truly occurs, the current undercurrent of widespread anticipation for a military mutiny clearly signals that Xi Jinping’s rule is undergoing an unprecedented crisis of trust and depletion of legitimacy. Public support has scattered, and military loyalty is uncertain. When the phrase “losing the people’s support” becomes a shared topic of open discussion, any small sign can be magnified into a signal of “overthrowing Xi.” This may be the most dangerous — and most realistic — portrait of China today.
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