800 Officials Dragged! A Time Bomb Ready to Explode Xi Jinping's Power?

In the latest development that has rocked China’s political world, the Central Disciplinary Commission of the Communist Party of China (CPC) has officially announced the investigation of Lan Tianli, the Deputy Secretary of the CCP and Chairman of the Guangxi Autonomous Region Government. He is suspected of being involved in serious disciplinary and legal violations. This case marks the second time, since the 20th National Congress of the CCP, that an active provincial government leader has been caught up in a major scandal. 

 This report has not only shocked the Chinese public, but has also drawn international attention. This is because Lan Tianli’s arrest is predicted to drag in at least 800 other officials and businessmen, and is even linked to the big name of Guo Shengkun—who is known to have family ties with former CCP leader Zeng Qinghong. 

 Not only that, the slogan echoed by the Guangxi Party leadership, “There is No King with an Iron Crown,” has sparked speculation about the sharp internal conflict among the CCP elite and the possibility of a massive political ‘cleansing’ behind the scenes. 

 Expert View: Yuan Hongbing’s In-depth Analysis

In order to explore the dynamics behind this case, journalist Kan Zhongguo interviewed Professor Yuan Hongbing, a Chinese legal expert and political observer who now lives in Australia. Yuan is known for exposing intrigues among the CCP elite.

 

Professor Yuan asserted: “The CCP’s internal system is currently facing its biggest crisis. Although Xi Jinping has intensified the anti-corruption campaign for more than 12 years, corruption is actually becoming more rampant. Every major official who falls will drag down a wave of other officials. This is a deep-rooted systemic pattern.”

According to Yuan, Xi Jinping is actually only ‘half-literate’ in ideological matters, but is very cunning in seizing power. He described Xi as a figure who is bad at managing the country, but, due to the ‘reverse selection’ rule in the authoritarian system, he is actually at the top of the CCP’s power pyramid. 

“Perhaps this is a ‘heavenly curse’ for the tyrannical regime,” he quipped. 

In the early days of his reign, Xi had deceived the public with anti-corruption slogans, but in reality, it was only used to eliminate political opponents—a Stalin-style purge. Xi’s ultimate goal was not simply to eradicate corruption, but to pave the way for becoming ‘emperor for life’, save the CCP from its existential crisis, and revive international communism.

In order to explore the dynamics behind this case, journalist Kan Zhongguo interviewed Professor Yuan Hongbing, a Chinese legal expert and political observer who now lives in Australia. Yuan is known for exposing intrigues among the CCP elite. 

Professor Yuan asserted: "The CCP's internal system is currently facing its biggest crisis. Although Xi Jinping has intensified the anti-corruption campaign for more than 12 years, corruption is actually becoming more rampant. Every major official who falls will drag down a wave of other officials. This is a deep-rooted systemic pattern."

According to Yuan, Xi Jinping is actually only 'half-literate' in ideological matters, but is very cunning in seizing power. He described Xi as a figure who is bad at managing the country, but, due to the 'reverse selection' rule in the authoritarian system, he is actually at the top of the CCP's power pyramid. 

“Perhaps this is a ‘heavenly curse’ for the tyrannical regime,” he quoted. 

In the early days of his reign, Xi had deceived the public with anti-corruption slogans, but in reality, it was only used to eliminate political opponents—a Stalin-style purge. Xi's ultimate goal was not simply to eradicate corruption, but to pave the way for becoming 'emperor for life', save the CCP from its existential crisis, and revive international communism.

According to Yuan, the most deadly crisis for Xi is when officials start to lose trust, even pointing fingers at each other as the source of the problem. The rhetoric about “Xi Jinping’s New Golden Age” is considered to be a mirage before the collapse. 

In fact, CCP officials know best how critical the crisis they are facing is. There is a high probability that in the next few years, Xi’s dictatorial system will collapse due to people’s resistance and China will enter an era of chaos and power struggles. Yuan even quoted Mao Zedong who once said: “After I am gone, there will be a rain of blood and a fishy wind.” 

Although Xi still dreams of becoming an eternal emperor and demands absolute loyalty from officials, the majority of CCP officials have begun to prepare themselves by accumulating wealth and building personal economic-political power to save themselves if the system collapses. This is one of the main reasons why corruption is increasingly rampant. 

Since the 20th CCP National Congress, almost all officials charged by the Central Disciplinary Commission, including Lan Tianli, have been charged with “building a faction/gang”—a vague term but full of psychological meaning. In essence, they formed personal networks outside the official party structure, building ‘small empires’ in anticipation of the CCP’s collapse.

Secret Report: “Factions and Gangs” Are an Existential Threat

The CCP’s Minister of Organization, Shi Taifeng, in his report to the Politburo Standing Committee, emphasized the danger of the phenomenon of “non-organizational activities of building factions/gangs within the party.” The report, which was distributed throughout the party structure, called this phenomenon the most dangerous form of betrayal and systemic corrosion for the survival of the CCP.

Three Characteristics of the Faction/Gang Phenomenon:

Personal Hierarchical Network: Loyal only to the superiors who appointed them, not to the party. This turns the party structure into a ‘personal gang.’

Cross-Sector Network: Connecting party officials, the military, state-owned enterprises, and private entrepreneurs—forming a parallel power network.

Based on Traditional Regions: Officials build local power in various provinces to survive possible national chaos, such as in the Yangtze River Delta, the Northeast, Guangxi, Hunan, Henan, Ningxia, Qinghai, and others.

One of the officials currently being questioned admitted that building regional networks was an anticipatory measure to protect themselves from possible mass riots if power collapsed.

In addition, high-ranking military officials such as Miao Hua and He Weidong, who were once highly trusted by Xi, have now been revealed to be in cahoots with the families of Jiang Zemin and Zeng Qinghong—Xi’s main enemies in Shanghai and the Yangtze Delta. Even in Xinjiang, the Production and Construction Corps has been building networks with local officials, preparing for any scenario of regime change.

The old adage holds true once again: “The duck in the river knows the water is warm first.” That is, CCP officials are always quicker to sense signs of crisis.

Anti-Corruption Campaign, Intelligence, and Systemic Fear

The fall of many generals since 2012—most of whom were appointed by Xi himself—is seen as a key pillar of the CCP’s control of power in the Xi era.

According to Yuan, the entire system is now controlled by a massive network of intelligence and secret police:

Central Discipline Commission and State Supervision Commission: Hundreds of thousands of agents supervise millions of officials at various levels.

Military Discipline Commission: Directly supervises the generals.

Central Secretariat (led by Cai Qi): Combines the positions of provincial government and party secretaries, under the direct control of the Central Secretariat. Secretaries now serve as ‘secret police’ who spy on other high-ranking officials.

Ministry of State Security (MSS): Not only in charge of external intelligence, but also the party’s internal secret police, supervising all levels of officials.

Ministry of Public Security: Tightly monitors social groups and influential figures.

Central Military Commission: After the 20th Congress, a special 18,000-strong force was established to arrest and detain generals suspected of disloyalty.

In fact, every secretary of a high-ranking military official is now directly supervised by Xi Jinping’s office, becoming a ‘secret police’ for his own boss.

Conclusion: “Death Knell” for Xi and the CCP Regime?

History shows that all dictatorial regimes that survive through secret police networks eventually fall. The method of purging and dismissing officials who are considered disloyal only shakes the bureaucracy’s mentality and accelerates the destruction of the foundation of power.

Ultimately, officials are the main pillars of the regime. When their trust collapses and they are more busy preparing their own path to safety, that is when the CCP’s power is truly on the verge of collapse.

Conclusion:

The Lan Tianli case is just the tip of the iceberg of the CCP’s elite crisis. Behind the scenes, the phenomenon of “no king with an iron crown” marks a major change that, if it continues, could shake China into an unprecedented chapter in history—a chapter that has the potential to be full of chaos, power struggles, and perhaps, the end of the CCP era in China.