Back in January, we featured analysis on mass withdrawals from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), apparently brought about by a series called the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party published by The Epoch Times newspaper. Instead of fading away into the night, as some may have feared or predicted, this phenomenon has snowballed and the number of withdrawals has reached over 4.5 million in a span of nine months. If the trend continues, it has the potential to significantly impact Chinese society.
Most people who chose to declare their withdrawals publicly have done so anonymously. Similar to a secret ballot system, this mechanism has allowed people to express their position without exposing themselves to reprisals, perhaps the closest thing we’ll get to a referendum in today’s China. On the other hand, it also makes it impossible for outside observers to verify the reliability of the number of withdrawals in conventional ways.
The reliability of those numbers is anybody’s guess at the moment, but CCP has not taken it lightly. Publicly, CCP has been tight-lipped, fearing that whatever it says will only generate more curiosity and interest. According to an internal speech by the Deputy Minister of the Public Security Ministry (see page 20 in this issue), however, the CCP regards it as something potentially affecting the Party’s ruling status. The Nine Commentaries is at the top of the banned literature list. Anyone found to be involved with its distribution faces dismissal from work and jail time.
China is also going through a significant campaign named "Baoxian," or "maintaining the advanced nature of the CCP," a topic that occupies the prime spots of Chinese publications but largely ignored by Western media. Googling the Chinese term "Baoxian" generates thousands of images (see examples on page 35) reminiscent of the Cultural Revolution. The campaign, launched at the end of last year, was designed to consolidate the current administration’s power. Generally these types of campaigns run their course in a short time, but this one has turned into a mechanism to counter the mass exodus from the CCP.
Given the CCP’s notorious history for cruelty and bloodshed, some have compared the CCP to the Beast described in the Book of Revelation. If this is truly a battle between good and evil, and if one does believe in good prevailing, then perhaps it’s time to contemplate the possibility of a post-CCP China and what that might look like.