Fujian Ningde Faces Severe Disaster, Xi Jinping Remains Silent

Typhoon 'Bai Dolphin' made landfall twice on the evening of August 9 in Yuhuan, Taizhou, Zhejiang, and Wengang Street, Yueqing City. This typhoon traveled an impressive distance of 6,000 kilometers, setting a record for oceanic typhoons making landfall in China. (Video screenshot)

[People News] According to reports from mainland media, Fujian Ningde has been hit by widespread heavy to torrential rain since the end of August 2026, influenced by Typhoon 'Shadell', the tropical convergence zone, and cold air. Areas such as Fuding City, Zherong County, and Fu'an City have experienced extreme rainfall, with seven townships in Fuding City and Zherong County recording over 600 millimeters. The highest rainfall was 670.6 millimeters in Guanyang Town, Fuding City, while Zherong County's urban area recorded 498.4 millimeters. In some regions, the cumulative rainfall over 24 hours approached 500 millimeters, with several rainfall records being broken.

The impact of such heavy rainfall has been severe. Many areas in Ningde have experienced significant urban flooding, with first floors submerged and vehicles swept away. Additionally, a landslide occurred at a reservoir dam in Fuding. The town of Diantou in Fuding City, known as 'China's First Street for White Tea' and a key production area for white tea, is in a state of chaos.

According to the Ningde Emergency Management Bureau, as of 12:00 on September 2, the recent heavy rainfall has caused direct economic losses of approximately 330 million yuan in Fuding City. Diantou Town has been particularly hard hit, with cumulative direct economic losses nearing 200 million yuan.

Given the extensive rainfall in Fujian Ningde, especially the significant losses suffered by white tea merchants in Diantou Town, one wonders if Xi Jinping, who is currently in Zhongnanhai, Beijing, is aware of the situation. If he is informed, then despite his silence during disasters in multiple provinces, he should at least acknowledge the disaster in Ningde, considering it is a place where he once worked and gained prominence.

In 1984, Xi Jinping was transferred from Hebei to Xiamen in Fujian province. By June 1988, he had been appointed as the Secretary of the Ningde Prefectural Party Committee and the First Secretary of the Ningde Military Sub-district Party Committee. According to official records, during his tenure in Ningde, Xi made anti-corruption a priority, addressing issues involving a total of 7,392 officials, including 242 at the county level and above, and 1,399 at the departmental level and above. During the 'June Fourth' incident in 1989, Xi ordered measures to prevent Wenzhou students from entering Ningde to organize protests in Fujian.

After Xi became the General Secretary of the Communist Party of China, his accomplishments in Ningde and other regions began to receive significant publicity. The 'Learning Times,' a publication affiliated with the Central Party School, even launched a special column titled 'Xi Jinping in Ningde,' which included 19 interview transcripts that reflected on Xi's work experiences in Ningde from various angles. These included his three visits to Xiadan, the 'Four Down to the Grassroots' initiative, the promotion of an 'Economic Chorus,' the issuance of '12 Regulations on Official Reception,' and efforts to address officials' illegal private housing construction, among other narratives.

One article noted that Xi frequently engaged in in-depth research in grassroots tea-producing regions, offering suggestions for localized approaches, scientific management, brand development, and enhancing tea quality. The town of Diantou, recognized as a key hub for the circulation and production of Fuding white tea, developed in line with Xi's recommendations.

Additionally, Xi instructed Ningde to proactively connect with Wenzhou, leveraging Wenzhou's economic development momentum to stimulate growth in Fuding and revitalize its industrial sector, among other initiatives.

During his one year and ten months in Ningde, Xi Jinping visited 123 out of the 124 towns in the region, 'measuring the land of eastern Fujian with his footsteps and demonstrating a profound love for the people.' These memoirs describe Xi as having 'strong will and leadership skills,' being highly capable, full of ideas, and adept at listening to differing opinions, among other attributes.

Regrettably, the Xi of the past appears to be a completely different person from the Xi who has ascended to power, or perhaps the Xi at the local level was simply putting on a performance. Even if it was a performance, if Xi wished to uphold his image of 'caring for the people,' he could have shown concern and offered condolences regarding the recent disaster in Ningde, particularly for the tea farmers affected, in order to acknowledge the praise he received from the people of Ningde.

Yet, Xi did nothing and made no public statements. In comparison to the significant disasters occurring in other parts of China, such as the mudslides that completely buried the 'national gate' in Tibet, the situation in Ningde seems trivial. Have the people of Ningde, who once took pride in Xi's leadership and fervently praised him, now come to their senses? Have they gained a clearer understanding of the true nature of the Chinese Communist Party?

(First published in People News) △