The annual “Two Sessions” of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) will be convened in Beijing this week. The CCP is facing unprecedented crises in the past 30 years and needs to continue strengthening its authoritarian rule while seeking a way forward.
Three Key Points of the ‘Two Sessions’
Lai Jianping, a Chinese human rights lawyer living in exile in Canada, said on NTD’s Chinese language program “Pinnacle View” that there are three key points to this year’s Two Sessions.The first point concerns the economy. China’s economic downturn is marked by a decline in the stock, real estate, and bond markets. Despite the various measures taken by the CCP, it has reached a dead end and is unable to turn the tide.
Mr. Lai said, “Since last year, the CCP has been desperate, even deploying the Ministry of State Security to threaten those who criticize China’s economy [with arrest].”
He believes that China’s current economic woes stem from the CCP’s politics. The root of the crisis lies in Xi Jinping’s dictatorship and retrogressive actions. As long as Xi Jinping’s role remains unchanged, the entire country’s political agenda will be to maintain one-party rule and a communist dictatorship. Therefore, economically, China is unlikely to return to the path of “reform and opening up.”
The second point concerns the CCP’s purge of its high-ranking officials. Recently, it was reported that former Minister of Foreign Affairs Qin Gang resigned from his position as a deputy in the NPC. Many speculated that Mr. Qin might have been tortured or executed. Given the secretive nature of the CCP, his resignation does not necessarily mean that he is alive or has resigned. The CCP routinely fabricates false information to deceive the Chinese public.
“We know that in the past year, 24 NPC deputies had their positions terminated, with only two attributed to alleged deaths,” said Mr. Lai. “The remaining 22 were results of purges, including ten senior military officers. This indicates that there is a force within the CCP opposing Xi Jinping’s dictatorship and retrogressive actions, making it difficult for many within the regime to continue.”
The third point is that the CCP will tighten stability maintenance to an unprecedented level. Over the past few years, resistance sentiments among the public and within the CCP have been growing continuously, reaching a point where they endanger the CCP’s one-party rule. Therefore, Mr. Lai believes that before and after the Two Sessions, the CCP will strengthen security measures to an unprecedented scale.
In 2021, the CCP enacted the so-called Data Security Law. Last April and September, amendments were made to the Anti-Espionage Law and Public Security Administration Punishments Law, respectively. China also proposed changes to the state secrets law.
Rare Delay in the Third Plenum
The CCP Central Committee’s “Third Plenum” is supposed to be an economy-focused, agenda-setting meeting that happens twice a decade. However, this important conference has been delayed for months with no date in sight.According to Mr. Lai, the CCP’s current emphasis is strengthening the Party’s leadership and affirming Xi’s leadership position. It appears that Xi personally planned, deployed, and promoted current policies and guidelines. Therefore, the CCP’s routine Party conference has been delayed.
Shi Shan, senior writer and contributor to the Chinese language edition of The Epoch Times, explained on “Pinnacle View” that historically, the Third Plenum mainly decides economic policies. Generally, after the Third Plenum, the regime will make some policy adjustments during the Two Sessions. Therefore, the Third Plenum is usually held before the Two Sessions.
“Recently, someone called me and said that the Third Plenum might have already been secretly held,” Mr. Shi said. “Of course, generally, the Third Plenum is not allowed to be held secretly because it is supposed to embody the so-called ‘democratic centralism,’ to reflect collective compromise, with different members of the Central Committee expressing various opinions and engaging in dialogue together. However, now it seems there is no need for various opinions to be discussed since one person decides everything.”
Mr. Lai said on the show that the reason the Chinese regime is viewed as a dictatorship is that it can do as it pleases without rules. It sets its own rules and can break them at any time. Originally, the so-called “reform and opening up” by the CCP was implemented by Deng Xiaoping, who established a system of abolishing lifelong leadership positions, implementing term limits, and other measures.
Xi Jinping’s Reign of Terror
Guo Jun, editor-in-chief of the Hong Kong edition of The Epoch Times, cited on “Pinnacle View” a recent report by Pierre-Antoine Donnet, the former editor-in-chief of Agence France-Presse, which summarized China’s current situation very well.The report indicated that China’s political and economic challenges are very serious. However, this is not the most important thing because all countries experience cycles of growth and decline. The key issue is to avoid social collapse during a downturn.
Ms. Guo explained that the core of the CCP’s problem lies in its firm grip on political power, and the regime will always put the interests of the Party first and the people last. Therefore, many of the CCP’s policies may seem irrational to the public, but they are necessary and inevitable in the CCP’s view. So, there are many absurd policies and measures in China.
“I believe Xi Jinping’s tyrannical rule is overwhelming, especially when his policies fail, his tyranny became exacerbated,” she said. “Recently, Beijing conducted extensive official reporting sessions, where all officials above the politburo committee and deputy-ministerial level have to submit written reports to Xi Jinping. The core content of these reports is about defending Xi Jinping’s authority and defending the authority of the central government. Essentially, it is an act of showing personal loyalty to Xi Jinping.”
Mr. Lai said on the show that resistance sentiments in China mainly lie in two groups. One is the grassroots common people, as many of them are truly struggling to survive.
“Many small business owners are facing closures, with the economy in such dire straits,” he said. “For the vulnerable groups at the bottom, their situation is worsening, making it impossible for them to maintain the most basic daily life.”
Another group consists of political and business elites in China, according to Mr. Lai. This group still has some aspirations of freedom and individual liberty. Under Xi’s authoritarian rule, they feel deeply concerned about the country’s future. So when the economy further deteriorates, and the CCP strengthens its one-party rule, this group may also stand up.
“If these two groups can unite, the CCP’s authoritarian rule may become difficult to maintain, and a scene similar to the June Fourth [Tiananmen Protests] with thousands of people taking to the streets may be repeated,” he said.
