On the morning of September 24, 2025, Xi Jinping (right), the leader of the Chinese Communist Party, visited an exhibition celebrating the 70th anniversary of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. Among the officials present, only Wang Huning (left) stood with his hands behind his back, gazing at Xi Jinping, who was speaking, in a posture that suggested a superior looking down at a subordinate. (Internet image)
[People News] According to a source connected to a provincial-level official, Wang Huning, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China and Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, recently made a significant gaffe in Xinjiang. During his speech at the conference marking the 70th anniversary of the Xinjiang Autonomous Region on September 25, he mistakenly referred to 'Xinjiang' as 'Tibet' in his final slogan-like summary! This error, made in front of Xi Jinping and numerous high-ranking officials at a gathering of thousands, undoubtedly had serious repercussions. The Communist Party cannot cover it up, no matter how hard they try: after all, they cannot silence thousands of voices, nor can they prevent the spread of rumours.
It is evident that Wang Huning has recently served as the head of the central delegation to both Tibet and Xinjiang for the celebration events. On September 23, General Secretary Xi Jinping led the central delegation to Urumqi, Xinjiang, but he was not the head of the delegation and returned on the 25th. In contrast, Wang Huning led the first sub-group to visit areas such as Burqin County in the Altay region for condolences, returning to Beijing on the 27th ahead of the other sub-groups.
On August 20, Xi Jinping, also not the head of the delegation, arrived in Tibet with the central delegation, and after attending the conference on the 21st, he left immediately. Meanwhile, Wang Huning, along with other high-ranking officials, led a sub-group to visit various locations and departed together on the 23rd. Why did he leave early instead of returning to Beijing with the other delegations? Could this be related to his verbal blunder?
In fact, a recent action by state media supports the notion that Wang Huning has embarrassed himself. While the full text of Wang Huning's speech in Xinjiang was published under his column on the Chinese Communist Party's Xinhua News website with authorisation, it is curious that his speech in Tibet has completely vanished. Isn't that a bit odd?
Nonetheless, the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference website did publish the full texts of both speeches in Xinjiang and Tibet. However, it remains unclear whether any modifications were made.
In the concluding section of the speech delivered in Xinjiang, it states that we must unite around the 'Party Central' with Xi at its core, 'working together with one heart and mind, bravely moving forward... to tirelessly strive for the construction of a united, harmonious, prosperous, and progressive socialist modernized Xinjiang where people can live and work in peace and contentment, and where the ecology is sound.' It has been reported that in this statement, 'Xinjiang' was mistakenly referred to as 'Tibet' by Wang Huning.
In the concluding section of the speech in Tibet, the opening sentence is identical, followed by 'working together with one heart and mind, pioneering and advancing, to continue pushing forward the construction of a socialist modernised New Tibet, and to tirelessly strive for the realisation of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and the Chinese Dream.'
The meanings conveyed in both conclusions are quite similar, with only minor differences in wording.
As previously analysed, Xi, despite his health issues, travelled a long distance to Xinjiang and Tibet to attend the conference but did not deliver a speech, which not only seems odd but also appears to validate rumours regarding his diminishing power, particularly the loss of military authority, which are not without basis. Therefore, why would Wang Huning, who is ostensibly in a moment of prominence, commit such a basic error?
Firstly, Wang's secretarial team is likely to bear the primary responsibility. I speculate that it was his secretary who provided Wang Huning with the draft from the celebration conference in Tibet without thorough edits. The question remains, why was his secretarial team so negligent? From what I understand, the secretaries working with high-ranking CCP officials are meticulously selected and rigorously trained, and there must be some underlying reason for their making such a mistake, or perhaps it is due to...
Secondly, it is clear that Wang Huning is also somewhat distracted. Having spent decades entrenched in the Chinese Communist Party's bureaucracy and delivered countless speeches, it is likely that Wang did not merely review his script beforehand but instead relied on his ability to speak off the cuff. If he had been more attentive, he would have easily recognised the distinction between 'Xinjiang' and 'Tibet.' However, if he was not fully focused or did not care about this detail, it is understandable that he failed to notice the error right away. Might his distraction be linked to the shifts in power within the upper ranks of the CCP?
Regardless of how the political landscape of the CCP evolves, Wang Huning has nonetheless left a humorous anecdote in the party's history, a legacy shared by several high-ranking officials, including Jiang and Xi.
(First published by People News) △
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