(Revised)
Since early 2012, when then Chongqing police Chief Wang Lijun, attempted to defect to the U.S., an intense political drama has been on display in China. This drama, titled “The Battle at Zhongnanhai,” has included multiple episodes, including the downfall of Bo Xilai, the smashing of “flies,” and the “tiger hunt” of Zhou Yongkang and Xu Caihou. Many people are expecting the next episode to be the capture of the “spider” (Jiang Zemin). [1]
Don’t underestimate the drama. It is a battle between China’s current top leader Xi Jinping and a former top leader, Jiang Zemin, with the full support of Jiang’s faction. Also, it breaks the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP’s) long tradition of confining their operations and in-fighting to a closed circle. It is the first time that the CCP has openly displayed its internal struggle on the world stage and it even uses the world stage to conduct its campaign.