He Is the Fiercest Anti-Xi Force — Will He “Crush” Xi Jinping in One Blow?

Pictured: File photo of Zhang Youxia (Lintao Zhang/Getty Images)

[People News] Since May, rumours have been spreading rapidly that Xi Jinping’s dominance has come to an end and his power has hollowed out. Sources within the Beijing establishment are now widely circulating the message that anti-Xi forces at the top of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) are preparing to “remove Xi Jinping.” On May 31, overseas independent media revealed that Zhang Youxia, Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), is one of the fiercest forces opposing Xi. He has allegedly stated that Xi must not be allowed a graceful exit — instead, he must resign from all posts at once to prevent any future retaliation.

On May 31, overseas media personality and economist Su Xiaohe continued to disclose insider information about the expanded Politburo meeting held on May 14. Reportedly, both Hu Jintao and Wen Jiabao gave speeches at the meeting. Zhang Youxia also spoke for 30 minutes. Su Xiaohe summarised Zhang’s speech in three parts:

Part One: Zhang Youxia declared Xi Jinping’s re-election illegal and admitted to his own mistakes, saying he must apologise to the Party Central Committee.

Part Two: Zhang revealed that Xi had pressured him to resign and even plotted to assassinate him, which ultimately led to their complete fallout.

Part Three: Among all anti-Xi forces, Zhang is the most aggressive and uncompromising.

Reportedly, Xi Jinping has pleaded with Party elders to allow him a “dignified exit,” which was endorsed by Hu and Wen. However, Zhang Youxia demanded that Xi immediately resign from all his posts — General Secretary of the CCP, President of the state, and Chairman of the Central Military Commission. Su Xiaohe said that Zhang fears sparing Xi today would allow him to make a comeback tomorrow.

According to Su, Wen Jiabao agreed to let Xi step down gracefully. Hu Jintao agreed to let Xi retain the title of State President. Zeng Qinghong suggested Xi could stay on as CMC Chairman for another two years. But Zhang Youxia insisted that if Xi is not “crushed” completely and all at once, he himself might lose his life in the end.

Xi Jinping: Suspicious and Ruthless by Nature

In fact, Xi’s transition from a close relationship to a bitter fallout with Zhang Youxia, once personal allies, has a traceable trajectory.

Both Xi Jinping and Zhang Youxia are “Second Red Generation” princelings. Xi’s father, Xi Zhongxun, and Zhang’s father, General Zhang Zongxun, were key leaders of the Northwest Field Army during wartime. The two families had a deep friendship.

High-level CCP power struggles always involve military support. In October 2022, Zhang Youxia, at age 72, stayed on as Vice Chairman of the CMC and a Politburo member, despite surpassing the retirement age, while Xu Qiliang, who is the same age, stepped down. Zhang played a key role in ensuring Xi’s reappointment at the 20th Party Congress.

Last year, Xi purged the entire leadership of the Rocket Force, implicating former Defense Ministers Wei Fenghe and Li Shangfu, along with leaders from the General Armaments Department and the aerospace defense sector. Xi ordered a retrospective investigation into seven years of corruption in the General Armaments Department but conspicuously spared Zhang Youxia, who was a former head of that very department.

On May 25, independent commentator Cai Shenkun analysed in a media program that after the 20th Party Congress, Xi launched an anti-corruption campaign in the military, with Zhang Youxia as its first real target. Though not directly named, Zhang’s protégés — such as Li Shangfu and many top officers in the Rocket Force and Strategic Support Force — were purged.

Cai noted that after Zhang’s network was dismantled, he was emotionally depressed for a long time and missed several major meetings. However, in the latter half of last year, a turning point appeared: the anti-corruption focus in the military shifted toward Xi’s allies from the 31st Group Army, signaling that Zhang was striking back, purging Xi’s loyalists.

Since last year, Xi’s close military allies have fallen: CMC Political Work Department chief Miao Hua has been investigated, and Vice Chairman He Weidong remains missing.

Observers believe that Zhang Youxia, fully understanding Xi’s ruthless nature, is determined to have Xi removed from all posts in one fell swoop, fearing that if Xi is given any breathing room, he will eventually retaliate.

The Chinese historian Liu Kongfu, currently in exile in Thailand, once revealed that a reporter asked Shen Dong, author of Red Roulette, what kind of person Xi Jinping really is. Shen replied: “In my understanding, he is ruthless and merciless, highly skilled in navigating the power struggles within China’s political arena, but not a particularly intelligent person.” Although Xi may lack high intelligence, he has spent decades crawling and clawing his way through the Party. He has learned nothing about governance or statesmanship, but he has thoroughly mastered the survival tactics within the CCP’s internal “meat grinder” — that is, the dark and manipulative political culture within the Party. He is “ruthless and cold-blooded,” capable of breaking all moral boundaries. There is nothing he wouldn’t do — only things you can’t imagine. He is, in short, the ultimate embodiment of evil.

Xi Jinping’s Military Purges Influenced by Ancient Prophecies

According to reliable sources cited earlier by Dajiyuan, internal CCP power struggles are rampant, and mutual distrust is pervasive. Many want to bring down Xi, including those he most recently promoted and trusts. All those arrested have secretly engaged in anti-Xi activities.

Reportedly, Xi believes in ancient Chinese prophecies and fears that he might be the ill-fated figure predicted in works like Tui Bei Tu and Iron Plate Chart — destined to die while still in office. This fear led him to purge the Rocket Force and top military leadership.

A famous Chinese prophecy book, Tui Bei Tu, contains the following verse in Image 46: “A soldier carries a bow, claiming to be a white-headed man. In the eastern gate lies a golden sword; A warrior enters the imperial palace from the back door.”

The accompanying cryptic line reads: “Dark clouds gather; no need for blades to kill. Though ten thousand live, one man cannot escape.”

The traditional Chinese character for “Xi” (習) is composed of “羽” (feather) and “白” (white). The phrase “white-headed man” includes these elements. The prophecy’s imagery of a military man with a bow entering the palace to kill the emperor mirrors a modern-day coup involving the Rocket Force, which controls long-range missiles, modern equivalents of ancient bows.

Thus, the Rocket Force’s symbolic “bow” deeply violated Xi’s superstitions. Influenced by “mystics” close to him, Xi purged his leadership, even those he had personally promoted.

Zhang Youxia’s surname “Zhang” (張) includes the radical for “bow” (弓), further triggering Xi’s paranoia. 

(Originally published by Peopel News)