(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.
Xi’s
purges of PLA generals Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli-intended to consolidate
loyalty- has backfired spectacularly with the army now ignoring his commands.
Xi has been hoisted by his own petard.
To
compound the ignominy, Beijing is now encircled by several Army Groups
signalling to Xi that if he does not relinquish power, he would be destroyed by
the very army he claims to command.
According
to credible sources, Xi was effectively stripped of his powers as Chairman of
the Central Military Commission (CMC) at the Politburo meeting on 30 January
2026. The titles remain; the optics persist- but command has quietly moved
elsewhere. Power in Beijing is exercised in silence, in shadows, and it has
quietly slipped from him.
Xi’s
powerlessness was underscored by the hastily convened Standing Committee
meeting of the National People’s Congress( NPC) yesterday, 4 February, a
meeting that normally happens every 2 months and was expected at the end of
February.
Instead,
Xi ordered it to be rushed forward to Lichun, the start of the lunar new year -
a rare and urgent move. Its purpose? Strip Zhang and Liu of their delegate
status. I warned 2 days ago that the purge was illegal. It required full
Politburo and CMC approval, which never happened.
Xi
was hoping to use the NPC meeting yesterday to regularise the illegality. Yet
when the meeting occurred, Zhang and Liu were not removed. Even extraordinary
procedural maneuvers couldn’t enforce Xi’s will.
My
Indonesian friends will immediately see the parallel. This mirrors how General
Suharto sidelined President Sukarno between 1965-68. Suharto didn’t seize power
in one stroke. He methodically consolidated military and political influence,
weakened Sukarno, and reduced him to a ceremonial role before assuming full
control and placing Sukarno under house arrest. Slow, invisible reallocation of
power. Same playbook. Different stage.
The
final truth is clear: Xi has lost power because he no longer commands the gun.
He may still meet virtually with Putin, speak with Trump- as he did yesterday-
but it’s all performance. Xi, the leader is now Xi the performer: a man in the
trappings of authority, but powerless to shape reality. Titles remain, meetings
happen, images circulate- but real command has quietly slipped away. Xi is
visible on stage, but the system is moving on without him.
