According to a source in Beijing close to China’s top leadership, Chinese Communist Party leader Xi Jinping has made his first significant move against the former Party boss, and his chief rival, Jiang Zemin. The source said that Jiang and his two sons have been “placed under control,” meaning that their freedom of movement has been temporarily restricted.
The source, who communicated with Lin Feng, an editor with the Chinese edition of Epoch Times, said that the action was taken on Aug. 15. Zeng Qinghong, Jiang’s henchman, also had his movements limited, according to the source.
Epoch Times believes the source to be reliable because of the source’s identity and access to information in the top leadership. Lin Feng believes the purpose of the revelation at this time is to send a signal to Jiang’s supporters in the regime, “to give everyone a psychological preparation for when Xi actually formally arrests Jiang.”
“They did the same thing before the removal of Zhou Yongkang and others, increasing pressure on them,” Lin said. Zhou Yongkang was the Party’s former security boss; when rumors that he would eventually be purged began emanating from China, they were initially dismissed by foreign observers of Chinese politics.
The takedown of Zhou is widely acknowledged to be among the most significant political purges in living memory.
