Xi Jinping's Fengqiao Experience Faces Total Failure as Public Backs 'Xiping Hero'

'Xiping Hero'

[People News] A criminal incident in Baicheng Street, Xiping County, Henan, on July 30 resulted in one death and several injuries. The police reported that 51-year-old Xia Mougang is a suspect who has fled, offering a reward of up to 50,000 yuan for information. The Xiping police characterized the incident as stemming from 'neighborhood trivialities' and highlighted that the suspect was armed and posed a danger.

In stark contrast, online rumors have spun a completely different narrative. Xia Fugang, the individual involved, is a veteran who has been persistently bullied by a local thug. The conflict between them has escalated, with rumors suggesting that the local bully is the village secretary. On July 30, Xia Fugang allegedly killed the family of the village secretary and then fled into a cornfield to hide.

Many netizens have taken to calling the suspect 'Old Xia' and 'Xiping Hero,' with some even refusing to report him. The government has deployed drones and police dogs, utilizing thermal imaging technology for a comprehensive search, while thousands of police officers have cordoned off the area, stationed every few steps. By August 4, the search efforts intensified, with dozens of buses mobilized to transport large groups of personnel. Videos reveal that along the roads, in addition to numerous police and special forces, many individuals in camouflage uniforms were lined up to conduct inspections along rural routes.

While the authorities are on high alert, the public has rallied behind Old Xia, hailing him as a hero for taking action that others would not dare to. Local residents have not only brought water, food, and various supplies to the cornfield where Old Xia is hiding but have also set fires in the cornfield to create heat sources, thereby disrupting the search teams' use of thermal imaging equipment.

There are individuals who are specifically planning escape routes for Lao Xia. Many people have recorded videos stating that while the people of Henan may lack money, they do not lack integrity; they would rather be poor than earn immoral money. They believe in cause and effect, and in metaphysics; they assert that whether it’s fifty thousand, one hundred thousand, or even five hundred thousand, they will not earn such ill-gotten gains. Some have sarcastically questioned why the government has mobilized such a large force for this case, yet has not done so on a similar scale when searching for missing children. Ironically, it has been eight days since the official announcement, and Xia Fugang has still not been found—neither alive nor dead.

The serious criminal mentioned in the government report has transformed into a legendary figure in the eyes of the public. This is not merely a projection of public sentiment or an exaggerated narrative for views; it serves as a clear historical testament to the people's sentiments. The arbitrary power of the Communist Party in local grassroots governance is facing a significant backlash. The unrestrained power, the authority that far exceeds the law, and the fragile credibility of the government are all systemic crises that are igniting public resistance and online uprisings. The official narrative and legal characterization of the Xiping violent incident have been overwhelmingly redefined by the awakened public. Lao Xia is not a murderer; he is a protector, eliminating violence and safeguarding the good, ridding the people of harm. He is not a killer; he is a hero from Pingxi who has been forced into the cornfield.

The phenomenon of online public opinion storming the tower illustrates the underlying issues more effectively than the cases themselves and merits deeper reflection and analysis. Many individuals have lost faith in the ability of ordinary citizens to receive timely, fair, and dignified treatment and redress through conventional channels when confronted with grassroots strongmen, local networks of influence, administrative inaction, and judicial unfairness. The so-called public institutions at various levels of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which claim to serve the people while using taxpayer money, are instead involved in the persecution of the populace. All the purported legal pathways, petitioning channels, and mediation mechanisms are nothing more than grand political spectacles, accomplices to CCP power, and lubricants for maintaining stability. Their claims of justice, fairness, and equality have never been intended for the benefit of the people; rather, they exist to ensnare them.

In the aftermath of incidents, the official response regarding actions taken and public opinion often reveals a dramatic and contradictory narrative. On one hand, the government mobilizes extensive violent stability maintenance forces and employs high-tech surveillance methods, pouring in vast sums of money and various equipment. On the other hand, they issue seemingly standardized reports, which are deliberately simplistic and intentionally vague regarding the case details, creating an information barrier and suspense that leaves the public confused. Undoubtedly, the CCP's information black box is a significant issue; it serves as the primary catalyst for 'civilian adjudication.'

Public security agencies consistently fail to address the public's most pressing concerns: Have there been ongoing conflicts between the parties involved? Were there any police reports, mediation attempts, threats, assaults, or disputes over land or rental agreements? Does the victim have any connections to local power structures or influence? Have local authorities previously addressed related complaints?

When authorities provide only conclusions without revealing the process, the internet and public opinion tend to fill in the gaps of the story. What people glean from 'neighborhood trivialities' often reflects not just ordinary disputes, but skepticism about long-standing grievances that are intentionally downplayed. The various narratives circulating on social media are inconsistent; some refer to the involvement of the village secretary, local bullies, and the humiliation of the elderly, while others simply share the police's account of a 'neighborhood conflict'. This highlights that the public discourse does not possess the truth but is instead competing for interpretative authority in the absence of clear facts.

The lack of transparency transforms each case into a 'Rashomon' scenario, and the public's counterintuitive experiences awaken a long-standing belief that 'the powerful are not held accountable, and the weak have no means to voice their complaints'. The public's overwhelming sympathy arises from the notion that 'an honest person has finally been driven to resist'; their admiration is not for violence itself, but rather a profound despair over the failures of mediation, petitioning, litigation, and grassroots oversight mechanisms, coupled with deep-seated anger towards the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) regime.

In the Xi Jinping era, the CCP has decentralized power to maintain comprehensive stability, reviving Mao Zedong's 'Fengqiao Experience' of mobilizing the masses to confront each other. This approach emphasizes mobilizing the public, avoiding the escalation of conflicts, and resolving issues locally. However, when mediation is subordinated to the priorities of stability, public sentiment control, and political red lines, it effectively becomes a standard signal for the new era's violent stability maintenance and an alternative strategy that changes the soup but not the medicine.

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) faces a significant challenge in overcoming the self-perpetuating cycle of mobilizing the masses: rather than being empowered to supervise local authorities, the public is instead enlisted as grid workers, informants, and stability maintenance assistants. This marginal role is highly vulnerable to a shift into that of the oppressed and insulted when confronted with higher levels of authority. When the public observes that the government displays a high degree of organization in pursuing suspects, yet fails to demonstrate the same efficiency in addressing issues like missing children, domestic violence, unpaid wages, land rights violations, or long-standing bullying complaints, it fosters a profound sense of insecurity. People begin to fear that they could become victims of power abuse. Internet users have sarcastically questioned, 'Why is there no such mobilization when searching for missing children?' This highlights the public's scrutiny of the CCP's misuse of resources within the public power system and reflects a deep-seated distrust of the system.

As an increasing number of individuals believe that only the emergence of 'heroes' can restore justice, society's acceptance of extrajudicial measures as a legitimate means of achieving justice signals the beginning of a collapse in the CCP's stability maintenance system. Each grievance that is suppressed will resurface in a more perilous form during the next crisis, and Xi Jinping's so-called 'Fengqiao Experience' has already disintegrated.

(First published by the People News) △