The persecution has backfired in a vague manner, with power being stripped away, leaving him in a position that is merely ceremonial. (Illustration by People News)
[People News] Recently, new evidence has surfaced regarding the controversy surrounding Ma Xingrui. At the funeral of Wang Bingqian, a vice-national-level official of the Communist Party of China, held on December 14, 2025, it was noted that Ma Xingrui did not sign the flower wreath.
According to a report from state media Xinhua, Wang Bingqian, a former State Councillor and vice-chairman of the Standing Committee of the 8th National People's Congress, passed away due to illness on December 8, 2025, in Guangdong, at the age of 100. His funeral took place six days later at a funeral home in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province. The official media reported that, on behalf of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, Zhao Leji, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau and chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, along with others, made a special trip to the funeral home in Guangzhou to pay their respects to Comrade Wang Bingqian and to offer condolences to his family.
As a vice-national-level leader, Ma Xingrui was expected to adhere to the Communist Party's funeral protocol, which requires all current or some Standing Committee members to attend the funeral, and all members of the Political Bureau to send flower wreaths as a sign of mourning. However, screenshots from an online video on the X platform reveal that in the group of four Political Bureau members who signed the wreaths, the group that included Wang Yi, Yin Li, and Shi Taifeng was notably missing Ma Xingrui's name, which should have appeared before Wang Yi according to the stroke order of the surname. The right side of the screenshot clearly shows that Liu Guozhong, Li Ganjie, Li Shulei, and Li Hongzhong formed one group to present a wreath and sign, while He Lifeng, Zhang Youxia, Zhang Guoqing, and Chen Wenqing formed another group. On the left side of the screenshot, Han Zheng is seen sending a wreath alone, and it is conventionally assumed that the seven Standing Committee members and Hu Jintao should also each send a wreath of condolence.
Ma Xingrui has now missed four important political meetings or major events within just half a month. After being absent from the Politburo meeting of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on November 28, the 23rd collective study session of the Politburo, the Central Politburo meeting on December 8, and the Central Economic Work Conference from December 10 to 11, Ma Xingrui's name again went missing on December 14 from the list of attendees at the funeral of Wang Bingqian, a vice-national-level official, which is quite unusual. The last time Ma Xingrui was publicly seen was during the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China held in Beijing from October 20 to 23.
The absence of Ma Xingrui's name from the wreath list for Wang Bingqian's funeral serves almost as an official confirmation that Ma Xingrui has indeed fallen from grace, echoing the situation of He Weidong, a member of the Politburo and former vice-chairman of the Central Military Commission, who faced a similar fate. He Weidong was officially announced to have fallen from power by a spokesperson from the Ministry of Defence just three days before the Fourth Plenary Session of the Communist Party on October 17, 2025. Earlier, on June 8, the farewell ceremony for Xu Qiliang, a member of the Politburo and vice-chairman of the Central Military Commission, took place at the Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery, and He Weidong did not send a wreath to Xu Qiliang, which sparked speculation about He Weidong's own troubles.
What should have been a solemn funeral for a retired Communist Party official has ironically turned into a political funeral for another current high-ranking official, highlighting the irony for Zhongnanhai and the Communist Party. For Xi Jinping, the troubles and removal of Ma Xingrui represent a significant blow to the core resources of his party and political power.
Ma Xingrui's political alliances and factions extend across the aerospace military industry, the Xinjiang Autonomous Region, Guangdong Province, and the Peng Liyuan faction, creating a vast network of political resources intertwined with complex power and corruption dynamics. According to reports from the overseas media outlet Jiang Wangzheng, the Ma Xingrui case has a domino effect that could implicate a significant portion of Xi Jinping's political landscape.
For several days, Ma Xingrui and his family members—including his wife Rong Li, brother Ma Xingquan, secretary Li Guangzhen, and his deputy in Xinjiang, Chen Weijun—have been under investigation by the authorities. There have been online rumours suggesting that Li Xi, the Secretary of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection of the Communist Party, and his family may also be involved in the Ma case, with 51 officials at the ministerial and vice-ministerial levels reportedly awaiting investigation.
On December 12, Chinese political scholar Liu Juning reported that Air Force Commander General Chang Dingqiu unexpectedly died of a heart attack during a retention interview. The true cause of Chang Dingqiu's death has led to various speculations online, with some claiming he suffered a heart attack during questioning, others suggesting he committed suicide while in custody, and some alleging he was shot dead during interrogation due to physical resistance.
In addition to Chang Dingqiu, Xu Xueqiang, the Minister of Equipment Development of the Chinese military, was also notably absent from the Central Economic Work Conference. Xu Xueqiang has attended this conference for three consecutive years, but this year he unexpectedly did not appear. Independent commentator Cai Shenkun revealed on October 18, 2025, that both Minister of Equipment Development Xu Xueqiang and National Defence University President Xiao Tianliang have fallen from grace, and National Defence University Political Commissar Zhong Shaojun has also been dismissed. This information suggests that Xu Xueqiang's political future may already be in jeopardy.
Three days prior to the Fourth Plenary Session of the Communist Party of China, nine military generals were officially dismissed. Following the session, Fang Hongwei, the Secretary of the Xi'an Municipal Party Committee, and Chen Weijun, the Executive Vice Chairman of Xinjiang, were also removed from their positions. With the incident involving Ma Xingrui, Xi Jinping's authority is facing ongoing seismic shocks that extend from the military to the party and government.
Notably, official reports indicate that on December 9, Bai Tianhui, the former Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee and General Manager of Huarong International Holdings Limited, was executed for accepting bribes totalling 1.108 billion yuan. The following day, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) published a significant article on its WeChat public account titled 'Serious Handling of the Liu Qingshan and Zhang Zishan Cases—Corrupt Elements Will Be Severely Punished Once Discovered.' When read together, these two incidents create a chilling atmosphere, suggesting that a storm of death stemming from power struggles is approaching, and the Xi family faction is about to suffer a severe blow from a downward spiral.
Another intriguing development is that while Xi Jinping's power continues to be undermined, it has been reported in certain areas of the mainland that his quotations are being quietly removed from circulation.
According to the X platform's 'Teacher Li is Not Your Teacher,' a netizen reported that on December 14, a grid worker from a local grain bureau issued a notice instructing communities to dismantle content related to 'The People Are the Country, the Country Is the People.' Additionally, it was mandated that photographs be taken throughout the dismantling process for documentation.
This excerpt is taken from the third volume of 'Xi Jinping on Governance' and is regarded as a quintessential Xi Jinping quote. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) once mandated that it be prominently displayed in party committee offices at all levels across the mainland. However, the slogan's crude and simplistic rhetoric, along with its clear linguistic errors, has led to widespread criticism and ridicule from netizens. Many sarcastically interpret Xi Jinping's intended message as 'to seize power is to seize the people, and to hold power is to hold the people.' Consequently, this slogan has become one of the ghostwritten phrases of Xi's version of the Cultural Revolution 2.0, highlighting the CCP's extreme governance model that is at odds with the people, competing for their interests, and exploiting and enslaving them.
In the current climate of economic decline and widespread suffering, CCP officials not only disregard the people's livelihoods but also aggressively suppress civil rights. Citizens are living in dire conditions, with no means to petition grievances or seek justice, and nowhere to express their frustrations. The CCP only permits the promotion of optimistic narratives, while any dissenting opinions are swiftly silenced and repressed. Numerous influential online figures have been silenced, economists are unable to share their honest research and observations, university graduates are facing immediate unemployment, businesses are collapsing at an alarming rate, and workers seeking their wages are branded as malicious. When foreign companies withdraw, the substantial compensation offered to Chinese workers is absurdly labelled by the CCP as 'sugar-coated shells' and 'malicious compensation.' The public's patience is wearing thin, and civil unrest is on the brink of eruption.
At present, the incident involving the removal and dismantling of Xi Jinping's quotes has not received extensive media coverage. If the claims mentioned above are accurate, it could suggest that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is discreetly eliminating the slogan 'The people are the country, the country is the people.' The authorities might be worried that the public could misinterpret Xi's quotes, potentially leading to social instability or even widespread unrest, which could inadvertently awaken a sense of resistance among the populace and challenge the CCP regime. As the end of the year approaches, the CCP has recently issued stability maintenance policies to local governments to prevent large-scale returns of people to their hometowns and to avoid them being stranded. They have also removed the revival of the Cultural Revolution's 'Fanghua' second creation and are attempting to silence both sides of the online discourse. These actions reveal the deep concerns and fears of Xi Jinping's regime regarding the current social and political landscape.
The CCP, likened to a sinking ship, is on the verge of going under. The people have the power to support or overturn it; Xi Jinping's authority is becoming marginalised, and the CCP is being forsaken by both history and the populace.
(First published by People News)△
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