Why Does Xi Keep Purging Loyalists? Look to Stalin and Mao for the Answer.
China is the opposite. The country still doesn't know why former President Hu Jintao was abruptly escorted out of the 2022 Communist Party congress, or what really happened when former Premier Li Keqiang died at 68 in 2023. And decades later, the full story of Lin Biao, Mao Zedong's chosen successor, who fled China and died in a plane crash in 1971, is still unknown.
The secrecy has spawned a niche industry of 'bedside eavesdroppers' — Chinese online commentators who parse rumors and fleeting clues for signs of political shifts. Their YouTube videos dissect the gait, complexion or media appearances of China's leader, Xi Jinping, and can draw millions of views from outside the country's internet firewall.
The bedside eavesdroppers have had a busy summer. Mr. Xi has purged a number of military and political leaders this year, all of whom he had appointed. The eavesdroppers have contrived a timeline of Mr. Xi's exit, a combative meeting between Mr. Xi's bloc and that of the party elders and even the military's secret plan to topple his rule. The chatter was joined by American voices: a former U.S. national security adviser, a former diplomat and Washington think tanks that suggested there was a fracture in his power structure. Political risk consultancies and investment funds rushed to brief clients: Why is Mr. Xi doing this? Does it signal strength or weakness?
Chinese politics remains a black box, and few credible observers are willing to be seen as indulging in rumor. Yet the questions themselves are legitimate. And they have deep historical echoes.
Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
News24
22 minutes ago
- News24
China furious as New Zealand labels it ‘most active' foreign interference player
China is most active in terms of foreign interference in New Zealand, said the country's spy service. The Indo-Pacific region is a focal point for strategic competition between powers. China's embassy in Wellington accused the agency of sowing suspicion. New Zealand's spy service warned on Thursday that China is the most active power engaging in foreign interference in the country, sparking a sharp rebuke from Beijing. New Zealand faces the 'most challenging national security environment of recent times', the country's intelligence agency said in an annual risk assessment. Key drivers of the deteriorating threat environment were less stable relationships between states, deepening polarisation and growing grievances. Though several states seek to manipulate New Zealand's government and society, China remains the 'most active', the New Zealand Security Intelligence Service said. READ | New Zealand PM Luxon slams Israel's Netanyahu over Gaza war: 'I think he has lost the plot' China's embassy in Wellington accused the agency of sowing suspicion and 'poisoning the two countries' relations'. 'The accusations sound very familiar as they rehash smears and slanders fabricated elsewhere, repackaged for the New Zealand audience,' an embassy spokesperson said. 'We have regarded, and are willing to continue to regard New Zealand as a friend and partner. But the healthy and stable development of bilateral relations depends on the joint efforts from both sides.' New Zealand's spy agency specifically accused China's United Front Work Department of engaging in foreign interference to build influence outside of China. Not all of its activity amounted to foreign interference, and some could be beneficial, it said. 'However, its activities are regularly deceptive, coercive and corruptive and come with risks for New Zealand organisations.' READ | Australia spy boss warns Russia, China, Iran as espionage threats 'trying to steal our secrets' The agency cautioned New Zealand businesses that under China's national security legislation, individuals and organisations in China must comply with requests from the country's security services. In response to a media inquiry on New Zealand's security service accusing China of being the most active country engaged in foreign interference in New Zealand, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning said on Thursday that China deplores and opposes it. We urge relevant… — Global Times (@globaltimesnews) August 21, 2025 The Indo-Pacific region is a focal point for strategic competition between powers, the security service said. China is a 'particularly assertive and powerful actor', seeking to extend and embed its influence across the region, the report said. 'It has demonstrated both a willingness and capability to undertake intelligence activity that targets New Zealand's national interests.' Without naming countries, the intelligence service highlighted the routine use of 'transnational repression' by foreign states, often by co-opting people to collect information about someone within their own diaspora living in New Zealand. Looking at other risks, the agency said the most plausible extremist threat in New Zealand remained that of a lone actor, radicalised in an increasingly polarised, grievance-laden online world, who attacks without forewarning. New Zealand's spy service warns of Chinese interference in the country, including through front organisations — AFP News Agency (@AFP) August 21, 2025 Young and vulnerable people were at the highest risk of radicalisation, it said. The intelligence organisation said it was 'almost certain' that some foreign espionage activity was going undetected. Foreign countries were targeting critical organisations, infrastructure and technology - mostly through cyber exploitation, it said. 'It is not just intelligence officers conducting this activity,' the agency said. 'Some governments take a 'whole of state approach' to intelligence gathering, which includes utilising businesses, universities, think tanks, or cyber actors to act on their behalf.' Global competition and insecurity drive most of the espionage activity against New Zealand, it said. The service cited 'multiple examples' of states seeking covert access to information on government policy positions, security partnerships, technological innovations and research.
39 minutes ago
China and Pakistan foreign ministers agree to launch new economic corridor projects
ISLAMABAD -- Pakistan and China pledged to expand economic cooperation and investment under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, a flagship program of China's Belt and Road Initiative, officials said. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with his Pakistani counterpart, Ishaq Dar, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Islamabad on Thursday. The two sides agreed to launch new projects through the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, or CPEC, a flagship program of the Belt and Road Initiative, a Pakistani government statement said. The countries did not immediately share details of the proposed projects. Called 'One Belt, One Road' in Chinese, the Belt and Road Initiative has built power plants, roads, railroads and ports around the world and deepened China's relations with Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Mideast. It is a major part of Chinese President Xi Jinping's push for China to play a larger role in global affairs. Beijing has invested billions of dollars in Pakistan through CPEC, building roads, power plants and rail links to connect China's western Xinjiang region with the Arabian Sea port of Gwadar in southwest Pakistan, where some Chinese have been attacked by insurgents in recent years. The foreign ministers vowed to deepen collaboration in science, technology, industry and agriculture. Wang also urged Pakistan to ensure the safety of Chinese workers and engineers, who have come under attack by separatists in Balochistan province and elsewhere in recent years. Pakistan already has increased security for Chinese working on CPEC-related projects. China has long been one of Pakistan's key ally and financial backer, especially as Islamabad struggles with a prolonged economic crisis. The meeting came a day after Wang and Dar traveled to Kabul for a trilateral dialogue with Afghanistan's Taliban rulers on political and economic cooperation. Wang's stop in Pakistan also followed a visit to neighboring India earlier this week, where he held talks aimed at stabilizing strained relations between the two Asian giants.
Yahoo
44 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Hackers who exposed North Korean government hacker explain why they did it
Earlier this year, two hackers broke into a computer and soon realized the significance of what this machine was. As it turned out, they had landed on the computer of a hacker who allegedly works for the North Korean government. The two hackers decided to keep digging and found evidence that they say linked the hacker to cyberespionage operations carried out by North Korea, exploits and hacking tools, and infrastructure used in those operations. Saber, one of the hackers involved, told TechCrunch that they had access to the North Korean government worker's computer for around four months, but as soon as they understood what data they got access to, they realized they eventually had to leak it and expose what they had discovered. 'These nation state hackers are hacking for all the wrong reasons, I hope more of them will get exposed, they deserve to be,' said Saber, who spoke to TechCrunch after he and cyb0rg published an article in the legendary hacking e-zine Phrack, disclosing details of their findings. There are countless cybersecurity companies and researchers who closely track anything the North Korean government, and its many hacking groups are up to, which includes espionage operation but also increasingly large crypto heists, as well as wide-ranging operations where North Koreans pose as remote IT workers to fund the regime's nuclear weapons program. In this case, Saber and cyb0rg went one step further and actually hacked the hackers, an operation that can give more, or at least different, insights into how these government-backed groups work, as well las 'what they are doing on a daily basis and so on,' as Saber put it. The hackers want to be known only by their handles, Saber and cyb0rg, because they may face retaliation from the North Korean government, and possibly others. Saber said that they consider themselves hacktivists, and he namedropped legendary hacktivist Phineas Fisher, responsible for hacking spyware makers FinFisher and Hacking Team, as an inspiration. At the same time, the hackers also understand that what they did is illegal, but they thought it was nonetheless important to publicize it. 'Keeping it for us wouldn't have been really helpful,' said Saber. 'By leaking it all to the public hopefully we can give researchers some more ways to detect them.' 'Hopefully this will also lead to many of their current victims being discovered and so to [the North Korean hackers] losing access,' he said. 'Illegal or not, this action has brought concrete artifacts to the community, this is more important,' said cyb0rg, in a message sent through Saber. Saber said they are convinced that while the hacker — whom they call 'Kim' — works for North Korea's regime, they may actually be Chinese and work for both governments, based on their findings that Kim did not work during holidays in China, suggesting that the hacker may be based there. Also, according to Saber, at times Kim translated some Korean documents into simplified Chinese using Google Translate. Saber said that he never tried to contact Kim. 'I don't think he would even listen, all he does is empower his leaders, the same leaders who enslave his own people,' he said. 'I'd probably tell him to use his knowledge in a way that helps people, not hurt them. But he lives in constant propaganda and likely since birth so this is all meaningless to him,' referring to the strict information vacuum that North Koreans live in, as they are largely cut off from the outside world. Saber declined to disclose how he and cyb0rg got access to Kim's computer, given that the two believe they can use the same techniques to 'obtain more access to some other of their systems the same way.' During their operation, Saber and cyb0rg found evidence of active hacks carried out by Kim, against South Korean and Taiwanese companies, which they say they contacted and alerted. North Korean hackers have a history of targeting people who work in the cybersecurity industry as well. That's why Saber said he is aware of that risk, but 'not really worried.' 'Not much can be done about this, definitely being more careful though :),' said Saber. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
