Xi Jinping secretly carried into 301, surrounding area locked down, Peng Liyuan shocked? Ren Zhengfei loses freedom, Huawei's sky changes? Family members inside the system burst into tears: the future is over! Chinese civil servants scramble to be fired just to get their passports back! (Old Beijing Teahouse / Episode 1745 / 2026/09/16)
The video revolves around online rumors concerning Xi Jinping's early return from India, his suspected health deterioration, and the loss of contact with Ren Zhengfei's family. It compiles claims regarding the lockdown of the 301 Hospital, troop movements, and official appearances, while also discussing changes in the cooperation model between Huawei and Seres. The latter part focuses on the September 10 response from three government departments regarding new exit regulations, the expansion of passport and family member background checks within the system, and cases of civil servants and executives attempting to resign and retrieve their passports by feigning absenteeism, providing critical illness certificates, or intentionally committing drunk driving.
Video link:
Full text:
On September 15, Li Juan, a Chinese-Australian writer living in Australia, shared a video from inside the Great Firewall. The video shows Tiananmen Square at night, heavily barricaded and swarming with both plainclothes and uniformed security personnel. Some described it as resembling an Auschwitz concentration camp, with a terrifying atmosphere. In the vast square, police cars, armed police, and special fire trucks seemed to outnumber the citizens.
Meanwhile, various versions of news have been circulating online. The X account "New Highland" claimed that, according to Beijing insiders, Xi Jinping rushed back to China from India on September 13 primarily because he was enraged and fell ill after learning that Ren Zhengfei and others from Huawei had lost contact and were suspected of attempting to flee. His accompanying healthcare physician, Zeng Yixin, advised Xi to return early for treatment.
Others suggest that the main reason for Xi's emergency departure less than 24 hours after arriving in India was a major health crisis. It is rumored that after Xi suffered a medical episode at the venue, it caught the attention of Narendra Modi, who asked "Is it okay" multiple times. However, Xi reportedly refused emergency medical assistance offered by the Indian side, fearing that his health information would be leaked and that hostile nations might collect his biological data, thus making him anxious to return.
However, because he was in a hurry and could not be supported by others or carried on a stretcher—to avoid Modi discovering that his health was truly in serious trouble—Xi allegedly received a temporary injection of morphine before boarding the plane. It is said to have been a sedative, a stimulant, and a hormone-like drug, intended to ensure that Xi could complete the boarding process independently in front of Chinese and Indian cameras, pretending to be healthy and walking briskly. While walking briskly was impossible, he managed a toddler-like shuffle and eventually boarded the plane.
After boarding, Xi performed a "lucky cat" style wave, turned into the cabin, and then lay flat. Some remarked that while the translator ran to the plane, Xi was unable to maintain his composure inside the cabin. It is said that the medical team provided emergency treatment throughout the return flight on Air Force One. Upon arriving in Beijing and disembarking, Xi was reportedly unable to walk, had to be carried off on a stretcher, and was rushed to the 301 Hospital.
According to these so-called insider leaks, Xi was once again diagnosed with a severe ischemic stroke, and even with treatment, he may suffer from aggravated sequelae. Of course, these are all unverified rumors circulating on the internet, and all judgments must await an official announcement from Xinhua News Agency.
Rumors have circulated that while Xi Jinping was carried out of the aircraft cabin on a stretcher and rushed to the 301 Hospital, the perimeter of the 301 Hospital was heavily blockaded and placed under martial law by the Central Guard Bureau. The 82nd Group Army from the direction of Baoding, Hebei, urgently moved north, rapidly closing in on Beijing; another military unit entered the barracks area in Fangshan, Beijing. Other reports indicated that Chang'an Avenue in Beijing was temporarily subjected to traffic control, with pedestrian and vehicle access restricted in certain areas. Medical staff inside the 301 Hospital were ordered to remain on site, with food and lodging entirely provided within the hospital, and were strictly prohibited from leaving without further orders.
As a result, the top leadership of the CCP was described as acting like ants on a hot pan, trying to cover up the news on one hand while dealing with the outside world on the other. Subsequently, CCTV reported that Xi Jinping sent a congratulatory message to Papua New Guinea Governor-General Bob Dadae, and reported that Xi Jinping sent a letter congratulating Jilin University on the 80th anniversary of its founding. These related developments did not feature Xi Jinping in person, only text announcements, which were widely believed to have been ghostwritten by staff under the direction of Wang Huning and published under Xi Jinping's name.
This time, after Xi Jinping experienced physical issues in India, his public livestreamed boarding of the airplane was also seen as a possible preemptive medication followed by a public appearance to dispel rumors. Such situations are not without precedent. During the military parade on September 3, 2025, many people noticed that in CCTV news footage, Xi Jinping's entire head and even his upper body showed noticeable twitching, and he seemed unable to control it himself. His head, chest, and hands beneath the table were in constant motion, and his breathing appeared labored, requiring him to frequently raise his head to complete breaths, which could be observed from the rise and fall of his chest.
A netizen claiming to be a "third-class police supervisor at a drug rehabilitation center" stated that he deals with compulsory drug rehabilitation detainees every day. Based on his judgment, the relevant manifestations closely resembled the withdrawal symptoms and stress reactions that occur after suddenly stopping the prolonged use of high-concentration synthetic opioid-like addictive drugs, which can cause muscle spasms and sensations like countless insects crawling and biting all over the body. Coupled with rumors that Xi Jinping has suffered from a very painful disease, if he used high doses of addictive drugs for pain relief and then suddenly stopped, it would not be surprising for spasms to occur.
Some linked these rumors to past online speculations that Xi Jinping had pancreatic cancer. In 2024, a netizen with the handle "Beijing Nurse" claimed to be a medical university graduate currently working as a nurse at a tertiary grade A hospital in Beijing. She said her classmate told her the day before that Xi Jinping had been arranged by the 301 medical team to undergo a PET-CT scan due to emaciation symptoms, which revealed a shadow on his pancreas, possibly pancreatic cancer. She also mentioned that this classmate had always been very reliable in speech, though she did not specify how the news was obtained, and the classmate did not work at the 301 Hospital. At the time, various claims regarding Xi Jinping's health were circulating, making it difficult to distinguish truth from falsehood.
Rumors regarding the bizarre disappearance of Ren Zhengfei's family also continued to spread. It was said that Ren Zhengfei's family might have taken a maritime route to their private island, after which there had been no public news for five or six days. Aside from Ren Zhengfei's younger daughter, Annabel Yao, releasing an entertainment news post stating that a new program would launch on September 23, Huawei official channels, Ren Zhengfei, Meng Wanzhou, and CCP state media all remained silent, leading the outside world to view the situation as abnormal.
Netizens compiled related past reports. In 2023 and 2024, rumors concerning Ren Zhengfei had surfaced twice online, and Huawei had promptly debunked them within a day or two; this time, the rumors had persisted for five or six days without any refutation from Huawei. The X account "Lens on World" also compared the exposure rates of Ren Zhengfei and Meng Wanzhou in CCP state media in recent years, noting that while their positions within Huawei remained largely unchanged, their frequency of appearance in official media had drastically plummeted since the first half of 2026.
Currently, outsiders continue to speculate whether Ren Zhengfei's family fled abroad, were placed under residential surveillance, or were arrested. If placed under residential surveillance, the CCP could theoretically arrange for them to appear in public to defuse the shock on public opinion. Another narrative emerged online claiming that Ren Zhengfei might have colluded with the military to undermine Xi Jinping's military game plan with the United States, thereby leading to his punishment. None of these claims have been verified.
Surrounding the suspected flight of Ren Zhengfei, a joke dubbed a "neo-Soviet joke," also referred to as a "Western Soviet joke" or "Xi Soviet joke," circulated online under the title "Who Betrayed Me?" The joke goes that Ren Zhengfei planned to be smuggled out of the country via a human smuggler, agreeing to use a mobile phone flashlight to flash three consecutive times on the beach as a signal. That night, Ren Zhengfei flashed three times first, and the smuggler responded, but the moment the smuggler flashed his light for the first time, the entire beach suddenly lit up brightly, and police lying in ambush nearby immediately pinned down, handcuffed, and arrested the two.
In the detention center, Ren Zhengfei angrily demanded to know why the smuggler betrayed him. The smuggler replied that he was not to blame, as the Huawei phone had automatically triggered the "Ultra-Vivid Nightscape Mode" and the "X-MAGE Moon Enhancement Algorithm," alerting traffic police across the city. The joke concluded that Ren Zhengfei wept and collapsed in the detention center upon hearing this, because his entire family used Apple phones, yet for something as vital as escaping for their lives, they had used a Huawei phone.
Another version claims that after Ren Zhengfei successfully escaped, he discovered his funds were frozen, so he sent a text message for help to the X account "Toronto Fang Lian." The message stated that he was Ren Zhengfei, had fled due to persecution, was currently hiding in Russia, and was unable to return to the country to reclaim his shares. He urgently needed funds and asked the recipient to wire 500,000 yuan to buy food, promising that once he reclaimed his equity, he would appoint the recipient as Huawei's CEO, and would also provide them with an Apple foldable phone and a Tesla Model X. The above content is an internet joke.
Influencer Zeng Zheng's post also mentioned that Huawei has suddenly changed its cooperation model with car manufacturers, and there may no longer be "Huawei cars" in the future. According to Chinese media reports, Huawei and Seres will adjust their smart selection vehicle cooperation model. In future cooperation with Seres, Huawei will adopt an asset-light model, shifting responsibilities such as product, marketing, sales, and service from Huawei-led to Seres-led, while Huawei will provide support and technology.
Next, let's discuss the new CCP entry and exit regulations. As the new regulations take effect, public concern over exit restrictions has increased. On September 10, the CCP's Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Public Security, and National Immigration Administration jointly responded, stating that the online rumors that "exits will be comprehensively tightened" and "it will become difficult for ordinary people to leave the country" are misinterpretations. The new regulations only target online fraud, high-risk destinations, and individuals with abnormal travel patterns; normal exits are not affected.
However, after the three departments responded, insiders within the system stated that government agencies, financial institutions, state-owned enterprises, hospitals, and universities have recently been expanding the scope of passport checks. Some units require employees to report whether they and their family members hold Chinese passports, foreign passports, and overseas green cards, and even require the declaration of relevant information about family members.
Before the new regulations took effect on September 15, the checks had already begun quietly. Some positions within the system require the surrender of passports, especially for sensitive positions and officials at or above the deputy division level, whose passports are usually kept by their units. Now, the scope of the checks has further expanded to government agencies, financial institutions, state-owned enterprises, large public hospitals, and schools. Regardless of whether they are CCP members, personnel within the system may have their passports checked by their units.
Multiple insiders revealed to overseas media that employees in different CCP systems have recently received an "Internal Special Investigation Form." The form requires employees to declare whether their family members hold foreign passports, whether they have dual citizenship, and whether they hold foreign green cards; if so, they must also fill in information such as the country of residence, the time of acquisition, and the number of documents held.
An insider revealed that immigration consulting firms have also been required to report client data to relevant departments. If it is discovered that a civil servant or public institution employee is applying for immigration without declaring it to their unit, they may be subject to disciplinary action. There have been reports previously that this policy has alarmed clients of immigration consulting firms, and there have been requests online to return or delete personal data.
An insider within the system, Mr. Li, said that over the past year, the leakage of internal confidential information within the CCP has been severe, involving the true state of China's economic operation and systemic corruption. He believes that Xi Jinping is worried that this intelligence will be taken out of China by people preparing to leave or who have already moved overseas, and that these people may continue to obtain information after leaving the country by using their original domestic connections.
According to Mr. Li, relevant departments are building files for public officials, and the investigation content is very detailed, similar to drawing a social relationship tree. The investigation includes information such as where they worked in the past, which school they graduated from, which classmates work in which departments in China, and whether their relatives are in the United States or other countries. The social relationships of public officials and their relatives may all be registered.
Faced with this investigation of passports and family relationships, Chinese people have begun to take various measures to get back the passports that were centrally kept by their units. On September 9, a netizen claiming to be a person within the system posted a message titled "Smashing the Iron Rice Bowl with My Own Hands, Unlocking the Iron Shackles with My Own Hands." She said that it was very difficult for her to pass the civil service exam back then, having gone through the "thousands of troops crossing a single-log bridge," only to find after entering the system that the so-called iron rice bowl was like an invisible set of shackles. Now that she wants to study abroad, she must find a way to unlock these shackles.
She said that according to relevant regulations, civil servants cannot resign within five years of joining, and passports must be handed over and locked in a safe by leaders. In order to get her passport back, she decided to let the unit fire her. She first privately explained the situation to her leader, asking for understanding and tacit approval, and then deliberately skipped work for 15 consecutive days to trigger the unit's dismissal procedure.
The leader then followed the process to handle her for violating attendance regulations. Although the two sides had reached a tacit understanding in advance, the dismissal process still lasted three months. After completing the procedures, she got back her red passport that had been centrally kept by the unit and transferred her social security file to flexible employment. She said that she had taken the civil service exam in the first place to avoid flexible employment, but now she had spent a lot of effort to return to a state of flexible employment.
The post sparked discussion among netizens. Some believe that the fact that personnel within the system have to rely on absenteeism to be fired in order to get their passports back shows that the cost of obtaining freedom within the system is very high. This practice is also called "benevolent absenteeism," corresponding to the "malicious wage demand" that migrant workers are accused of.
Insiders in Beijing's financial circles reveal that some executives in the financial sector and state-owned enterprises also wish to resign and retrieve their passports, but resigning through normal channels is extremely difficult. Some have sought out acquaintances in the medical profession to issue terminal cancer diagnoses, hoping their employers would deem them unfit for work and subsequently fire them. Others have intentionally driven under the influence, actively seeking out traffic police on city roads and demanding to be tested for drunk driving, preferring to face administrative detention and a criminal record just to force their employers to fire them as quickly as possible so they can get their passports back.
These individuals are believed to possess significant core resources and internal information, and they fear being subjected to retroactive investigations or purges in the future. Consequently, resigning normally has become a goal they hope to achieve, yet it is difficult to accomplish in reality. To leave their positions, they are forced to resort to self-discrediting, absenteeism, or manufacturing evidence of illegal or disciplinary misconduct.