◎ Liu’s remarks hint at a coup attempt against Xi Jinping, and the officials he listed are part of Jiang Zemin’s faction.
During a financial apparatus meeting at the 19th Party Congress, China Securities Regulatory Commission chairman Liu Shiyu criticized several purged elite officials and noted that they had “plotted to usurp the Party leadership,” according to Hong Kong media.
The officials Liu named are Bo Xilai, Zhou Yongkang, Ling Jihua, Xu Caihou, Guo Boxiong, and Sun Zhengcai.
Our take: Liu’s remarks hint at a coup attempt against Xi Jinping, and the officials he listed are part of Jiang Zemin’s faction.
In 2015, Xi alluded to Bo and Zhou’s 2012 coup in several speeches where he accused them, Ling, Xu, and Guo of conspiring to “wreck and split the Party.”
Liu Shiyu’s mention of Sun Zhengcai corroborates our earlier analysis that Sun may be involved in a recent failed coup against Xi.
See our in-depth report for the full analysis of the 2017 coup.