Chinese Media’s Delayed Coverage of Top Regime Official’s Tour Reveals Internal Strife Between Xi Jin Ping and Premier Li Ke Qiang: Experts

Epoch Times ^ | 08/27/2020 | Nicole Hao

[SeekAndFind]

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang visited Chongqing city, which experienced severe flooding following heavy rains, from Aug. 20 to Aug. 21, but state-run media didn’t report on his trip until Aug. 23—an unusual delay for media outlets that typically provide constant coverage of top officials’ public activities.

The media reports also focused on economic development—a departure from the information about Li’s trip that was posted on the Chinese central government’s official website from Aug. 20 to Aug. 25. The website emphasized that Li had observed the effects of the flooding and encouraged locals to unite amid the catastrophe.

China analysts say this inconsistency adds to mounting evidence of disagreements between Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Li, and suggests internal strife within the Communist Party leadership.

“The state-run media intentionally didn’t report on Li’s Chongqing trip, but there was a shocking photo of Li in a cornfield posted on the Chinese central government’s website. The photo forced [state broadcaster] CCTV to report on his trip on the evening of Aug. 23,” wrote U.S.-based China political affairs commentator Zhong Yuan in a commentary published by the Chinese-language Epoch Times.

The photo, taken in a flooded cornfield at Shuangba village in Tongnan district of Chongqing on Aug. 20, shows Li inspecting a corn crop that was destroyed due to the flooding. Unlike typical official photo ops that show pristine images, Li is shown standing in muddy water with dirtied rain boots.

“The Chinese regime doesn’t want to expose any real catastrophe situations to the public, because the tragic lives that Chinese people have suffered will damage the regime’s image and threaten its ruling,” Zhong wrote.

That’s why China’s state media didn’t report on the visit, “even for an official as senior as premier,” he added.

[SeekAndFind]

According to Party ranking, as premier, Li oversees the country’s economic policies.

During this year’s annual conference of the Party’s rubber-stamp legislature in May, Li spoke about the economic effects of the CCP virus epidemic and the need to recover from the downturn.

But during an economic seminar organized by Xi at Zhongnanhai—the Party’s headquarters—on Aug. 24, Li was conspicuously absent.

State-run media Xinhua reported that Xi invited nine top Chinese economists to the seminar. Xi was accompanied by Wang Huning, head of the Party’s Secretariat and leader of China’s propaganda system, and Han Zheng, the vice premier in charge of Hong Kong and Macau affairs.

“Xi wanted to show that he is the real boss of the Chinese economy by organizing this seminar without Li. He wanted to tell people that Li doesn’t make any decisions,” said U.S.-based China affairs commentator Tang Jingyuan.

Since May, Xi and Li have issued conflicting comments regarding the state of China’s economy.

Xi emphasized that his goal for China is to become “a moderately prosperous society,” and claimed that China is advancing toward achieving that goal, with “400 million people in the middle class.”

During a speech at the May 28 session of the rubber-stamp legislature, Li revealed that 600 million Chinese only earn 1,000 yuan ($140) per month, which isn’t enough to cover monthly rent on a one-bedroom apartment in a midsized Chinese city.

Li also promoted the idea of setting up a “street vendor economy” to alleviate rising unemployment as a result of the pandemic. But state media such as Xinhua later criticized the policy idea, saying street vendors would damage a modern metropolis’s image.

[libh8er]

This has been going on for quite sometime below the radar. XingPing has open disdain for Kequiang. Now if only Kequiang can figure out a way to topple XP.

[ifinnegan]

It’s a banana republic. Whomever gets military backing is the leader.

Mao died and Deng died, who were Long March veterans.

Deng designated Jiang Zemin and then Hu Jintao as successors.

After that there is no authoritative line of succession. It becomes who can gain power. Xi won first. His position is precarious because there is no system or rule of law.

[who_would_fardels_bear]

Other reports suggest that Xi doesn't really have a phalanx of followers like Jiang Zemin. Rather than doling out important duties to devoted supporters, he has been gathering power directly under himself.

This will not forebode well for him if Li is able to gather his own forces or those of Jiang Zemin that were purged by Xi.

[SeekAndFind]

RE: Mao died and Deng died, who were Long March veterans.

Don’t forget the obscure Hua Guo Feng, who actually replaced Mao as CCP Party chairman before Deng came to power.

I doubt if most young Chinese even remember who he was...

[Revolutionary]

Xi has been purging several in the party. You don’t see that in the news.

[SunkenCiv]

A rare scene of Chinese Premier Li Keqiang being humiliated publicly by Xi Jinping and Vice Premier Liu He was broadcast live by China Central Television and stays online for the entire world to watch repeatedly. How could this happen? Is the CCP's split so severe that they can no longer hide it? Is a coup looming as rumor has it? What will happen at this year's most mysterious "Baidaihe Meeting" of the CCP?

Xi Jinping vs Li Keqiang:The CCP's Split Goes Public

[SunkenCiv]

Don't forget Lin Biao.

[AdmSmith]

When the CCP states that there is no problem, it is a problem:

China’s food supplies remain stable and consumers should not be “overly anxious” or even resort to “panic buying”, a senior agriculture ministry official said on Wednesday, following recent uncertainty caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

Still, farmers and traders should prevent food waste caused by improper storage, while farmers who stockpile in the hope of later gains should be wary that prices could turn against them, ministry official Tang Ke told a briefing.

President Xi Jinping raised the issue of food security earlier this month when he spoke about “shameful” food wastage, while a government think tank has warned about a looming food supply gap by 2025.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-agriculture-grains-idUSKBN25M0CQ

Food prices in China climbed by about 10 percent in July over the same period last year, while pork prices skyrocketed by 86 percent, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. The latter can be attributed to the loss of 180 million pigs, or 40 percent of the national herd, to ASF last year and reports of fresh outbreaks this year following the floods.

The flooding, which started in early June, is continuing in the Yangtze River, Huai River, and Yellow River basins, which are all important grain-producing regions. A total of 27 Chinese provinces have been hit by flooding so far this year, inflicting over 144.4 billion Chinese yuan in property damages.

Another serious problem that threatens China’s food supply is insect infestations. The fall armyworm (FAW), which feasts on corn, has been detected in all but five of China’s provinces, pushing corn prices to five-year highs, despite the release of 1.4 billion bushels of corn from the country’s reserves, reported Forbes.

https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/3986625

More about the flooding see
https://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/3858449/posts