Joerg Wuttke, a China hand who wrote a letter to former Chinese Vice Premier Hu Chunhua, believes Mr. Hu, has become “deposed crown prince” of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and that Chinese leader Xi Jinping has left no space for any contenders to his reign.
The Chamber suggested that Beijing relax epidemic prevention measures, including allowing asymptomatic and mildly symptomatic people to isolate at home and allowing Chinese people access to mRNA vaccines.
Mr. Wuttke, who currently serves as Chief Representative of BASF China, said that he wrote the letter “because the lockdown in Shanghai suggested that many more cities would be in a similar situation.”
He chose to write to Mr. Hu because he “was responsible for foreign investment in the state council,” and they “met several times before,” he told The Epoch Times on April 12.
Hu Chunhua Stripped of Heir Apparent Status
Six months after Mr. Wuttke wrote the letter, the 59-year-old Mr. Hu failed to be elected to the 20th Central Political Bureau of the CCP and eventually resigned as Vice Premier, leaving the core of power. His predicted position as the “heir apparent” was thus stripped away.Mr. Wuttke, who was not surprised by the change, said that Mr. Hu “was never, nowhere close to being a contender.”
“There is no contender,” he continued. “Xi Jinping has left no space for any contender. It did not matter what the former leadership wanted. The last ten years have shown what a deft politician Xi Jinping is.”
Xi’s purge of the Youth League faction did not stop at Mr. Hu Chunhua, but extended to the military.
Xi’s Political Purge of Military
On Oct. 26, 2023, six months after stepping down as CCP premier, Mr. Li suddenly died from a heart attack while swimming.Prior to this, Mr. Li Yuchao and his deputy Liu Guangbin, as well as Zhang Zhenzhong, former deputy commander of the Rocket Force, were investigated by the Central Military Commission.
In October 2023, Defense Minister Li Shangfu was declared removed from office. In December 2023, nine generals from multiple branches of the military and three senior executives from military-industrial enterprises were removed from the National People’s Congress, confirming rumors of their downfall.
Regarding the series of purges centered on the leadership of the Rocket Force, Yuan Hongbing, a former law professor at Peking University and a renowned dissident living in exile in Australia, told the Epoch Times, “This stems from a small group suspected of being disloyal to Xi Jinping.”
“Li Yuchao’s secretary reported to the Central Military Commission that Li and the entire upper echelon of the Rocket Force are ’two-faced.' That is, they were politically disloyal. Specifically, they publicly supported Xi Jinping’s strategy of launching a war in the Taiwan Strait, but in private discussions, they agreed with the views of former National Defense University Political Commissar Liu Yazhou, who opposes launching a war,” he said.
Mr. Li Yuchao’s secretary also reported to the Central Military Commission that Mr. Li Shangfu and Mr. Qin had close ties to the leaders of the Rocket Force and lacked confidence in Xi’s strategy for a war with Taiwan.
The frequent incidents involving senior officials of the Rocket Force, including those appointed by Xi, show that the CCP leader still harbors suspicions about his surroundings and is clearing out dissidents, including former “heirs apparent,” to consolidate his position.
Mr. Wuttke said Mr. Hu Chunhua was “insignificant in power seeking” within the CCP.
Asked about speculation that his writing to Mr. Hu Chunhua, as a Westerner, may have been the catalyst for Xi’s handling of Mr. Hu Chunhua and the subsequent destruction of the Youth League faction, he said, “My letter had zero impact on his career.”
