China’s New ‘5-Anti Campaign’ Will Further Purge Those Who Oppose Xi Jinping: China Analyst

In a redux of the infamous Mao-era campaign, Xi aims to sow division among CCP elites, in order to more easily purge their ranks, says a China expert.

Military delegates arrive for the third plenary session of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, on March 10, 2018. Communist leader Xi Jinping is tightening his control of China's military and party leadership. Fred Dufour / AFP via Getty Images

Two articles by China’s Ministry of State Security (MSS) chief last month evoked echoes of a particularly dark period in China’s history, leading to talk of a newly minted “Five-Anti Campaign.”

Writing in Qiushi (求是; Qiúshì), the theoretical journal of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), on April 15, MSS head Chen Yixin outlined a campaign of “five anti-struggles” against forces that are said to threaten Chinese national security. The article was followed by an April 29 article in the state journal Study Times (学习时报; Xuéxí Shíbào), also highlighting the campaign.