What Does the Anomaly in Li Xi's Speech Indicate?

Illustration: On March 12, 2023, CCP Politburo Standing Committee members Cai Qi and Li Xi attend a session of the National People’s Congress. (Noel Celis/AFP)

[People News] This year, as several senior officials of the Communist Party of China (CPC) have begun to downplay the previously standard loyalty phrases "two establishments" and "two safeguards," Li Xi, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau and Secretary of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, stands out as an exception, consistently mentioned in the limited number of meeting reports. However, in the latest report, Li Xi's speech has also shown some unusual aspects.

According to information from the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the National Supervisory Commission's website, during the 17th collective study session of the 20th Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, Li Xi emphasized the importance of being guided by "Xi Thought" and the need to "deeply study and implement" Xi's discussions on technological innovation, along with the clichéd phrases such as "consciously revolve around the center and serve the overall situation."

Notably, the report only mentions the necessity of firmly supporting the "two establishments" and resolutely achieving the "two safeguards" in the second paragraph, while also stating the need to "effectively unify thoughts and actions with the decisions and deployments of General Secretary Xi Jinping and the Party Central Committee."

In previous reports of collective study sessions, Li Xi's remarks regarding "establishing" and "safeguarding" were typically presented in the first paragraph.

For example, in the report from May 26 of this year concerning the 16th (expanded) collective study session of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, the first paragraph highlighted Li Xi's emphasis on the need for discipline inspection and supervision agencies to deeply study and implement "Xi Thought," followed by a firm support for the "two establishments" and resolutely achieving the "two safeguards." Furthermore, in the third paragraph, there was additional praise for Xi, reiterating the significance of the "establishment" and so forth.

On February 24 this year, during the 14th collective study session of the Standing Committee of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI), the report followed a similar format, praising Xi Jinping for his adherence to the 'two combinations' and his promotion of innovative theories in Marxist cultural thought, which provided a 'powerful ideological weapon and scientific action guide' for....

This pattern was also evident in several reports on the CCDI Standing Committee's collective study sessions in 2024.

In the context of rampant rumours about Xi's serious illness and loss of power, as well as other Politburo Standing Committee members and commissioners downplaying Xi's authority, Li Xi continues to express loyalty to Xi. This indirectly indicates that divisions within the upper ranks of the Communist Party of China (CPC) remain. This may also explain why Li Xi has been less active in public appearances.

At the end of May this year, Zheng Yanchong, the director of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, deputy director of the State Council's Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office, and national security advisor to the Hong Kong National Security Committee, was dismissed. Zheng Yanchong had taken over from Luo Huining in mid-January 2023, serving as the new director of the Liaison Office in Hong Kong and advisor to the Hong Kong National Security Committee; prior to this, he was the director of the CPC's National Security Office in Hong Kong.

Born in Guangdong, Zheng Yanchong had a long career in the province, holding positions such as secretary-general of the South China branch of the People's Daily, deputy director of the Guangdong Provincial Policy Research Office, deputy secretary of the Shanwei Municipal Committee, secretary of the Municipal Discipline Inspection Commission, and secretary of the Municipal Committee. In 2011, residents of Wukan Village in Guangdong confronted the local government over land disputes, leading to prolonged police-civilian conflicts. It was Zheng Yanchong, then secretary of the Shanwei Municipal Committee, who ordered the use of forceful measures to suppress the local residents.

In 2013, he was appointed as the Deputy Director of the Propaganda Department of the Guangdong Provincial Committee. However, being skilled in political manoeuvring, he was promoted in May 2018 to the position of Executive Deputy Secretary-General of the Guangdong Provincial Committee and Director of the Provincial Policy Research Office. Later that year, in October, he became the Secretary-General of the Guangdong Provincial Committee, and in January 2019, he joined the Standing Committee of the Provincial Committee.

During this time, Zheng Yanxiong (鄭雁雄) crossed paths with Li Xi (李希). Li Xi was the top leader of Guangdong from 2017 to 2022, and Zheng served as his secretary, which fostered a close working relationship between them. While Li Xi was in Gansu, he worked as the secretary to Li Ziqi (李子奇), who was the Secretary of the Gansu Provincial Committee in 1986. Li Ziqi was a former subordinate of Xi Zhongxun (習仲勛) and a fellow townsman from Shaanxi. Reports suggest that Li Xi frequently accompanied Li Ziqi to Beijing and Shenzhen to visit Xi Zhongxun, which helped him become acquainted with Xi Jinping (習近平) and join the so-called "Xi family army."

Consequently, Zheng Yanxiong was sent to Hong Kong during the 2019 "anti-extradition" movement to oversee stability measures, and he subsequently advanced in his career. It is hard to deny that Li Xi's influence played a role in this. Zheng Yanxiong's abrupt dismissal likely stems from orders issued by Chinese Communist Party elders aiming to replace Xi's control and improve Hong Kong's international image. This move undoubtedly serves as a rebuke to Li Xi, indirectly confirming the reasons behind Li Xi's prolonged "invisibility" and the erosion of Xi's power.

Now, Li Xi has begun to tone down his loyalty to Xi in his own domain, indicating that he has received warnings from higher authorities. The implications of this situation are clear.

(First published in People News) △