(Lim Tean’s post from the FACEBOOK on 30 January 2026.)
Xi Jinping’s Hua Guofeng Moment: How A Strongman Lost Power In A Slow-Motion Coup. I am often accused of “sensationalism” when I write about Chinese politics. Usually, it’s from those who mistake visibility for authority and press statements for power. They can never comprehend that Beijing operates though omission, ritual,and silence- who disappears, who stops being mentioned, which roles hollow out while titles remain.
To
demand literal proof in this system is not prudence- it’s ignorance. Real
China-watching is about reading tea leaves, not headlines. What’s happening to
Xi Jinping right now is a slow-motion political coup, the kind Deng Xiaoping
perfected against Hua Guofeng( Mao’s succcessor) over 3 years between 1978-81.
Hua wasn’t overthrown with tanks or public announcements; he was quietly marginalised, stripped of real authority while keeping his titles, as Deng rebuilt alliances and shifted institutional power behind the scenes.








