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Apple Daily: Why Xi Jinping Is Cleansing the Princelings?

Apply Daily published a commentary stating that Xi Jinping has started to remove princelings {descendants of prominent and influential senior Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials} from power. A discussion of the contents of the commentary follows.

“The princelings are rare to see among the newly elected representatives of the Communist Party’s 19th National Congress. They are not only rare in the civil section and state-owned enterprises, but also in the military. Several high-profile princelings in the military have either retired or been pushed aside, including Mao Xinyu (grandson of former CCP head Mao Zedong), Liu Yuan (son of former President Liu Shaoqi), Liu Xiaojiang (son-in-law of former CCP General Secretary Hu Yaobang), Zhang Haiyang (son of former Central Military Commission Vice Chairman Zhang Zhen), Liu Yazhou (son-in-law of former President Li Xiannian), Zhu Heping (grandson of former Marshall Zhu De).”

“Obviously this is Xi’s arrangement.”

The article went on to explain that the princelings, many of whom appear to have a high-profile civilian or military rank, are normally not in the key posts. Also, they have been split among many smaller groups due to the CCP’s intense in-fighting, whether among themselves or inherited from their parents.

They are likely to interfere in the administration’s policies. In 2005, Zhu De’s grandson Zhu Chenghu claimed that, if the U.S. were to interfere in China-Taiwan affairs, then  China “is prepared to sacrifice all cities on the east side of Xi’an” to have a nuclear war with the U.S. Another grandson of Zhu De, Zhu Heping, stated that China may have a military fight with Japan to gain the control of the Senkaku Islands (called the Diaoyudao Islands in China).

While the princelings may not have contributed big achievements, they can create big trouble for Xi Jinping due to their political status and their influence over the business world. Therefore, Xi has had to restrict them.

Source: Apple Daily, September 15, 2017
http://hk.apple.nextmedia.com/news/art/20170915/20153339