In 1976, the Gang of Four was ousted. The Gang of Four was a leftist political group comprising Chinese Communist Party (CCP) members: Jiang Qing (江青), its leading figure and Mao Zedong’s (毛澤東) last wife; Zhang Chunqiao (張春橋); Yao Wenyuan (姚文元); and Wang Hongwen (王洪文).
The four wielded supreme power during the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976), but when Mao died, they were overthrown and charged with crimes against China in what was in essence a political coup of the right against the left.
The same type of thing might be happening again as the CCP has expelled nine top generals. Rather than a simple purge, it might be the beginning of a coup to force Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) out.
All nine were recently promoted “running dogs” of Xi. Most were three-star generals and also members of the CCP’s Central Committee. Of the nine, He Weidong (何衛東), vice chairman of the CCP’s Central Military Commission, was the most prominent, being the second-highest ranking official in China’s military after Xi, who is the chairman of the committee.
The expulsion of the nine has been described as part of an anti-corruption drive, but the timing is particularly critical, coming on the eve of the fourth plenary session of the CCP’s 20th congress.
At the plenary, the committee is to discuss the country’s economic development plan and vote in new members.
Xi’s fate could also be determined at it.
If this is a political coup, not a simple purge, Xi could be ousted outright, “exited gracefully” on medical ground or, more likely, he might stay on as a titular political figurehead without any real power, but only until the competing factions reach an agreement on who rules next.
Either way, Xi’s power as supreme ruler of China might soon be challenged. Without the support of his “gang of nine,” Xi’s position is more precarious.
Bruce Elleman, who was the William V. Pratt professor of international history at the US Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island, is retired.
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