By Li Jingyao, Vision Times
In the weeks following the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee, a subtle but unmistakable shift has rippled through China’s political apparatus. State media outlets, long known for their ritualized devotion to Xi Jinping, have suddenly begun emphasizing a new phrase: “Study Deeply and Comprehend Thoroughly” (学深悟透).
Once the hallmark front-page “hard standard” of “Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era” was mandatory in headlines. Now, that once-untouchable formula has been quietly shrunk, buried deeper in text, or omitted entirely.
Analysts say this linguistic downgrade signals a deeper reality: Xi Jinping, after losing control of the military, may now be losing his grip over the Party itself. Some observers even suggest that the military has taken de facto control of the propaganda system, with a silent political realignment now unfolding across China’s bureaucratic core.
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A quiet upheaval in Zhongnanhai
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In the past, every headline in People’s Daily, Xinhua News Agency, and other Party media began the same way — first line: “Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era.”
Second line: “Firmly uphold the Two Establishes and the Two Safeguards.”
Now, those slogans have not disappeared, but they have been visibly diminished, moved down into the body text, or omitted from summaries altogether, including:
- On Oct. 27, Beijing Daily’s front-page commentary titled “Study Deeply and Comprehend Thoroughly the Spirit of the Fourth Plenum” mentioned the Two Establishes only in the third paragraph. “Xi’s nameplate is still there,” commentator Jiang Feng remarked, “but no one’s offering incense anymore.”
- On Oct. 28, Xinhua’s dispatch summarizing regional propaganda tours — including those in Shaanxi, Anhui, and Hebei — reaffirmed loyalty to the Party Central Committee but omitted the Two Establishes entirely.
- By Oct. 31, People’s Daily’s editorial “Upholding the Party’s Comprehensive Leadership to Drive Chinese-Style Modernization” contained no reference at all to Xi, the ‘core,’ or his ideological doctrine. Even across the full text, neither “Two Establishes” nor “Two Safeguards” appeared once.
A new rule order
Political commentator Jiang Feng argues that “Study Deeply and Comprehend Thoroughly” is not a new slogan but a new imperial edict suggesting: “It’s a coded directive,” Jiang said. “You must grasp its meaning. If you ‘comprehend’ too late, you’ve pledged loyalty to the wrong master. If you comprehend early and withdraw in time — you might survive.”
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According to Jiang, the propaganda apparatus, long dominated by Li Shulei and Cai Qi, key members of Xi’s inner circle, appears to have shifted control.
“When the main subjects in headlines change from Xi Jinping to the Party Central Committee, and from the Two Establishes to Study Deeply and Comprehend Thoroughly,” he said, “it likely means the propaganda system has been taken over — and that the military has entered Xinhua and People’s Daily.”
Following the Plenum, Jiang Feng says, a “silent political line-up” has begun across China’s five core law enforcement and security sectors — public security, prosecution, judiciary, state security, and the political-legal apparatus.
A close reading of their official statements, he noted, reveals three distinct tiers of allegiance.
Tier 1: The loyalist ‘household servants’
On Oct. 27, Minister of Public Security Wang Xiaohong issued the strongest declaration of fealty: “Firmly uphold the Two Establishes.”
Jiang explained this as: “This is the highest expression of loyalty to Xi. Wang Xiaohong owes his entire career to him — from Fujian to Beijing, he followed Xi step by step. He’s a family servant, a creation of the ‘baozi system.’ As the emperor’s scabbard and the Party’s chief enforcer, he must cling to the Two Establishes to preserve his own political life.”
Tier 2: The ‘Tai Chi’ practitioners
By comparison, Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission Secretary Chen Wenqing took a more cautious tone on November 3, saying: “The Two Establishes are the fundamental political guarantee.” Jiang noted that this was a deliberate downgrade in loyalty language — from “firmly uphold” to “fundamental guarantee.”
“That single word change,” he said, “is a five-point drop in political obedience.” Similarly, State Security Minister Chen Yixin (Oct. 24) and Supreme Court President Zhang Jun (Nov. 3) both adopted the phrase “deeply comprehend” (深刻领悟) — an ambiguous formulation that implies hesitation.
“When you say ‘comprehend,’ you’re saying you’re still processing — not that you support,” Jiang said. “It’s a coded message: we’re not chanting anymore; we’re waiting to see where the wind blows.” Zhang Jun even added a safety clause: “Continue to study deeply and comprehend thoroughly.” This, Jiang explained, signals watchful neutrality: one foot in caution, one foot in self-preservation.
When Zhang’s statement later included the phrase “uphold the Party’s absolute leadership over judicial work,” Jiang said the meaning was unmistakable: “When they say ‘the Party,’ not ‘the core,’ it means Xi has vanished from the script — and the organization has taken over.”
Tier 3: The defectors
By Nov. 4, the tone had changed completely. Prosecutor General Ying Yong — once a Xi loyalist parachuted into Wuhan during the COVID-19 crisis — issued a statement mentioning only the Two Safeguards, with the Two Establishes deleted in full.
“The Two Establishes define Xi’s personal authority,” Jiang noted, “while the Two Safeguards emphasize collective Party leadership. One centers on a man; the other, the institution. Ying Yong’s omission was an open declaration: ‘I no longer serve the man — only the organization.’”
“He used to be a die-hard loyalist,” Jiang said, “so if even Ying Yong has dropped the phrase, the pressure isn’t coming from below — it’s coming from the top, likely the military or the Party elders.” He added, “When the emperor’s most faithful servants start abandoning ship,” he added, “it means the vessel is already sinking.”
Xi in freefall
Veteran journalist Guo Jun stated on Elite Forum that Xi’s loss of authority has become impossible to ignore. “He’s lost control over the aerospace sector; Peng Liyuan’s Shandong faction has been purged; and even Xi’s Tsinghua clique is being disciplined. Party power manifests in personnel control — and that control now belongs to others.”
Producer Li Jun echoed the same assessment: “Xi’s confidants are being demoted or arrested one after another, but none of the new appointees belong to his inner circle. It seems both military and Party personnel powers have slipped out of his hands.”
“If that’s true,” Li said, “then Xi has truly become another Hua Guofeng. The resemblance grows by the day. Look at his recent meeting with Trump — he wasn’t making decisions; he was reading from a script.”
‘Not a power transfer but a systemic purge’
“What the world is witnessing now,” Jiang Feng concluded, “is not a policy adjustment but a systemic purge. When the entire Party begins to ‘comprehend deeply,’ it means the consensus has been reached — to lift away the emperor’s chair altogether. Everyone has decided that seat is no longer needed.”
But still, not all analysts agree that Xi’s power is fading. Commentator Zhang Tianliang pointed to a recent “Wall Street Journal” article by Lingling Wei, titled “Tech Supremacy or Livelihood First? China Chooses the Former.”
According to Zhang, Wei’s reporting on Xi’s current authority aligns indirectly with observations made by U.S. President Donald Trump. During a breakfast meeting, Trump recounted his recent summit with Xi in Busan, describing Xi’s entourage as “terrified and expressionless.”
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“They looked absolutely petrified around Xi,” Trump said. “When I asked them questions, they didn’t dare answer.” He then turned to Vice President J.D. Vance and jokingly said, “Why don’t you act like those CCP officials — scared of me? I’d enjoy that!” The remark drew laughter from the room.
“Trump’s observation suggests that Xi’s subordinates are still deeply afraid of him — perhaps not out of respect, but out of fear of losing their positions,” said Zhang Tianliang. “Fear can sustain power for a time, but not forever.”
The fading prominence of Xi’s slogans, the rise of “Study Deeply and Comprehend Thoroughly,” and the silent recalibration of political loyalty across China’s power centers all point to one conclusion: A post-Xi alignment is already underway — quietly, cautiously, and under the cover of obedience. “When words change in the Party’s scriptures,” Jiang Feng said, “the regime has already had a change of heart.”
Editorial note: This report draws on official Chinese media releases and commentary from independent analysts. Some details remain unverified and are presented for informational purposes only.
