Fifth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee: "21st Party Congress Standing Committee List" Leaked — Peng Liyuan and Qi Qiaoqiao Appear in Special Spots! Is Hu Chunhua Really Sick? Big Trouble in Shanghai: Waves of Unemployment, Vacancies, and Stock Market Crash Hit All at Once — Is Chen Jining Dumping the Mess and Heading to Beijing? (Old Beijing Teahouse / Episode 1785 / 2026/10/26)

This episode mainly discusses the insider details surrounding the convening of the 20th CCP Central Committee Fifth Plenary Session, the political movements of Hu Chunhua, and the severe economic and employment crisis in Shanghai. The program points out that the atmosphere ahead of the plenary session was tense, with leaked lists of candidate and recommended members for the Politburo Standing Committee of the 21st National Congress, and analyzes the political subtext of Hu Chunhua's absence from the Long March assembly. At the same time, through private entrepreneurs being subjected to back taxes, the desperate plight of white-collar workers and fresh graduates facing unemployment, and foreign capital flight leading to office building vacancy rates ranking first globally, it reveals the grim reality of Shanghai's economic collapse.

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After much anticipation, the Fifth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the CCP has finally been convened—a piece of news as welcome as a laxative after being backed up for so long. Look here: from today until the 29th, the Fifth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party is being held in Beijing to study major issues regarding the persistent promotion of comprehensive and strict Party governance. It looks calm on the surface, but it is actually quite aggressive. "Comprehensive and strict Party governance" won't stop until it has scared the living daylights out of you, adopting a "you die or I die" stance. If you don't believe it, look at what happened six days ago on October 20th: Xi Jinping's hatchet man, Chen Yixin, had the Ministry of State Security (MSS) float the message of "vowing to die to defend the Party Central Committee." They are playing for keeps. What does Chen Yixin mean? That they have discovered someone within the Party carrying a bow and a golden sword, plotting to assassinate Xi Jinping—discovered exactly when needed. Beijing netizens are complaining that subway security has gone insane; one person's lunchbox didn't pass through the scanner, and the security guard chased them all the way onto the train with the device, with transit police even coming over to ask what was going on. Is the situation really that tense? Yes, it is. Moreover, high-speed trains from Tianjin to Beijing and Taiyuan to Beijing all require secondary security checks. This is the "safest country" and the "safest capital." Can they afford not to "vow to die to defend the Party Central Committee"? Chen Yixin, the head of the MSS, is essentially saying they must keep slamming the table to scare the cats within the system; the struggle is incredibly treacherous. Back in the day, our Party's secret agents protected the Party Central Committee with their lives, only to be successfully wiped out by the Nationalist government in the end. So much for the anti-bandit campaign. Chen Yixin is rehashing old news, using the survival crises from before the CCP seized power to hint at the current infighting and power struggles—the internal struggle is even more of a "you die or I die" situation than the conflict with the enemy. Even General Mao Xinyu, with his big belly, understands what this means. Mao Xinyu said, "I understand; 'vowing to die to defend the Party Central Committee' means the Party Central Committee is currently in mortal danger." This general is specifically tasked with scaring his "Xi Dada." The MSS is scaring the General Secretary to death—could it be that Chen Yixin wants to join the Politburo at the 21st Party Congress and is creating a tense atmosphere in advance to show his loyalty? The loyalty is certain, and the atmosphere is indeed very tense. How so? The number of jokes mocking the "great situation" of the Xi era and satirizing the General Secretary's smiling face as he marches toward a "moderately prosperous society" has exploded. The entertainment atmosphere is completely unstoppable. The "Chinese Dream of the Great Rejuvenation of the Nation" is enough to make one wake up laughing, and the AI remix creators have all woken up laughing. After repeatedly studying Chairman Xi's discourse on how "excellent traditional Chinese culture is the 'root' and 'soul'," everyone took a closer look at the current situation and was shocked to discover that the General Secretary is cleverly using traditional culture to govern the country. I'm dizzy—who is distorting the facts like this to suck up to Xi? It doesn't matter who; just judge for yourself whether what is said is correct. What is said? "I suspect Yu the Great taming the floods tamed away my salary; Hou Yi shooting the sun shot away my Sunday; I, the Foolish Old Man moving mountains, moved away my support; Nüwa creating humans created little villains for me—ninety million little villains; I suspect the story of 'studying by the light of a hole in the wall' stole away my savings." Hey, Cao Chong weighing the elephant snatched away my partner; Kong Rong yielding the pear just means I'm being forced to resign—I'm going to be unemployed! Mencius' mother moving three times is why my monthly salary is only three thousand. It's over, it's over, I'm completely losing it. Who came up with this compilation? Cover your teeth, look here—pfft, that's brilliant. The forced, seamless, and twisted combination of traditional culture and heartbreaking reality has been achieved by the Communist bandits. I ask you, isn't this magical realism shocking? I strongly suspect that if Old Xi were to scroll past this video, he might be angered into a crooked mouth and slanted eyes on the spot. Never mind, it's already been cured; Chinese netizens have released a large photo as evidence of the General Secretary's cure for crooked mouths and slanted eyes. There's even photographic evidence? A large sign is particularly eye-catching: "Nationally Renowned Doctor, from Zhengzhou, Henan, specializes in treating crooked mouths and slanted eyes." Below it is a large photo of the celebrity spokesperson, Xi Jinping, looking very upright, with his eyes and mouth not crooked or slanted at all. The General Secretary says that ever since he cured his crooked mouth and slanted eyes, the whole world has been spinning. By the way, let me ask quietly, can my crooked neck be cured? Well, laugh it off—a good laugh keeps you young.

The 20th CCP Central Committee held its Fifth Plenary Session, but the black box remains a black box. The meeting will not disclose who attended or who was absent, and the public has already calmed down because, according to custom, the footage and communiqué of the plenary session will not be released until the closing day. From October 26 to 28, it is a closed-door meeting with no photos, and it will close on October 29. Overseas Epoch Times disclosed an internal evaluation list for candidates of the 21st Politburo Standing Committee, containing six main evaluation subjects and three alternate candidates. Who are they? According to sources, among the next Standing Committee, two people are listed separately: Xi Jinping and Li Qiang. Li Qiang is also listed separately. Candidates pending evaluation include Ding Xuexiang, Chen Jining, Zhang Guoqing, Yin Li, Li Shulei, and Liu Guozhong. The only veteran among them is Ding Xuexiang. Besides Old Xi and Li Qiang, there are three other alternate evaluation candidates: Yuan Jiajin, Chen Min'er, and Chen Wenqing. Oh, the Party Secretary of Chongqing, the Party Secretary of Tianjin, and the Secretary of the Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission. Yes, these nine people are all members of the 20th Central Politburo. Among them, Ding Xuexiang has already entered the Standing Committee; Chen Jining and Yin Li currently govern Shanghai and Beijing respectively; Zhang Guoqing and Liu Guozhong are both Vice Premiers of the State Council; and Li Shulei is the Head of the Publicity Department. After all that talk, Li Qiang has puffed himself up. The rest, apart from Ding Xuexiang, are completely wiped out, after all, their age has reached the red line. Among the current seven members of the Standing Committee, besides Ding Xuexiang, Li Qiang is the youngest. When the 21st National Congress is held next year, Ding Xuexiang will be 65 years old, and barring any surprises, he will steadily remain in office. The CCP's unwritten rule is 'seven up, eight down'; at the party congress reshuffle, an age of 67 or younger qualifies one for re-election or promotion, which is called 'seven up'. An age of 68 or older means mandatory retirement, 'eight down'. At the time of the 21st National Congress, Li Qiang will be exactly 68 years old, stepping right on the 'eight down' red line. However, because Xi Jinping was 69 years old when he was re-elected for a third term during the 20th National Congress, if Li Qiang remains in office, it would be copying Old Xi's homework and breaking the promotion red line once again. Zhao Leji, Wang Huning, Cai Qi, and Li Xi are definitely shrimps; their ages perfectly exceed the standard, and it is estimated that Old Xi will not break the 'seven up, eight down' rule on a large scale just to protect them. According to political commentator Li Linyi, Li Qiang's special feature is that he can act as the chief steward, helping Xi Jinping at the administrative level to absolutely and obediently help Xi stabilize the situation, and he has no political ambitions. Little Qiang said, 'Right, I am a brick in the outhouse, moved wherever needed; I carry a stench and easily provoke public anger from other former members of the Standing Committee.' Look at that. Speaking of this, pay attention and take note: the nine candidates are not too unusual, but the recommenders of the candidates are eye-catching. There is an upset recommender—no, not an upset, it's steaming hot. Xi Jinping's biological sister Qiao Qiao and his wife Peng Liyuan. Wait, female relatives of the Xi family making recommendations? Isn't this participating in politics? What do you think? Beijing sources told Epoch Times that Ding Xuexiang's recommenders are Cai Qi and Chen Xi. Veterans pushing veterans—there's nothing unusual about that. Chen Jining's recommenders are Qiao Qiao and Chen Xi. Royals have arrived; does Chen Jining have face? Absolutely. Yin Li's recommender is Peng Liyuan—the fake empress making a solo recommendation. Li Shulei's recommenders are Cai Qi and Shi Taifeng. Liu Guozhong's recommender is Li Zhanshu; two outdated old men recommending a newcomer, feeling somewhat envious, jealous, and hateful, a mixed bag of feelings. The source simply did not mention who Zhang Guoqing's recommender is. However, the recommenders he mentioned date back as early as the 20th National Congress in 2022. As for whether they were recommended through formal organizational procedures or directly 'offering advice and suggestions' privately to Xi Jinping, it was not mentioned. Only one point can basically be verified: the top levels of the party-state are all arranged by 'insiders' or 'family members', turning the steamed bun cage into a family empire. Chen Jining and Yin Li being able to climb up to the harem of the local emperor Xi the Steamed Bun shows they have some tricks up their sleeves. By the way, Beijing sources said that Chen Jining's recommender being able to find Xi Jinping's biological sister Qiao Qiao means that Chen Jining's entry into the Politburo in 2022 already benefited from the recommendation of the Xi family. Yin Li is even more so; Yin Li's recommender when he entered the Politburo in 2022 was Peng Liyuan. After years of cultivation, Xi Jinping is picking the tallest person among dwarfs, and will likely treat him as his own man.

Wait, listening back and forth, I remembered something. Hu Chunhua had nothing to do with it, and his disappearance was for nothing. Speaking of Hu Chunhua, let us update a piece of news. On October 24, Huaiming (a pseudonym), a Chinese Communist Party insider close to the top leadership, told The Epoch Times in an exclusive report that Hu Chunhua did not attend the meeting due to health reasons. In fact, these high-ranking officials are also prone to falling ill. He rushed and hurried, only to fall ill just as Old Xi held the Long March conference. The timing is ominous, perhaps. Huaiming also mentioned another matter. He said that although the information he learned this time was that Hu Chunhua was truly ill, Hu Chunhua is not entirely without the risk of falling from power, because the unwritten rule of high-level power struggles is "not advancing means retreating." What does this mean? It means that if you fail to secure the position you are competing for, you run the risk of being arrested. The original quote was, once you fail to go up, you are easily pulled down. That is the situation now: if you do not go up, you go down to Qincheng Prison; it is possible. Huaiming gave an example: former Political Bureau member Ma Xingrui had been plotting a promotion. If nothing went wrong, he could have entered the Standing Committee during next year's reshuffle, but instead he was brought down early and fell from power this April. As you say this, the deposed crown prince's whereabouts are unknown, and the person planted by the pseudo-empress fell from power early, becoming deposed crown prince number two. Fortunately, apart from Xi Jinping, Peng Liyuan, and Ma Xingrui himself, no one else paid attention to his existence, treating him as if he had never existed. But Hu Chunhua is different; big brother Hu Jintao is staring closely, so Huaiming's conclusion is that Hu Chunhua's exit from the Political Bureau position to the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) means he is politically finished. However, recent rumors that his entire family was arrested are not necessarily true, because Huaiming recently saw Hu Chunhua's son at a horse-racing event. Oh, in other words, Hu Chunhua really did not attend the Long March conference due to health reasons. Commentator Wen Zhao, after seeing the front-page editorial of the People's Daily on the first day of the Fifth Plenary Session titled "Persisting in Promoting Comprehensive and Strict Governance of the Party on the New Journey," posted an ominous premonition about Hu Chunhua on his X account. He felt that something was going to happen to Hu Chunhua, having this premonition. Wen Zhao said that on the day of the Fifth Plenary Session, the front page of the People's Daily featured a lengthy discourse, starting right off with the Long March, mentioning the Zunyi Conference, and saying that this was a life-or-death turning point in the Party's history, and the reason the Party was able to overcome life-or-death crises lay in establishing Mao Zedong's core position. This is equivalent to declaring that the more dangerous the situation, the more Xi must centralize power. Wait, you just said the more dangerous the situation, which matches Chen Yixin's "swearing to defend the CCP Central Committee to the death"; only when the situation is dangerous is there a need to swear to defend it to the death. Wen Zhao went on to say: Where did the Zunyi Conference "turn" from? It turned from the lines of Wang Ming and Bo Gu, and power was transferred into Mao Zedong's hands. The People's Daily gets straight to the point, equating the 1935 Zunyi Conference with the 2026 Fifth Plenary Session. Then Hu Chunhua's absence from the Long March commemoration meeting has a high degree of similarity in significance to missing a plenary session of the Central Committee. Oh my god, if you substitute like terms into this equation, snap, Hu Chunhua parts ways with the CCP Central Committee, off you go, blooming on two branches and going separate ways. Wen Zhao went on to analyze that if little Hu really had physical discomfort, and this commemoration meeting was of such great political significance, even if it were only for the sake of showing loyalty, as long as he could move an inch, he should not have been absent; otherwise, it would show contempt for the General Secretary, and the nature of the matter would be serious. If he was so sick that he could not even attend the Long March commemoration meeting, then it is not a minor illness, and I am afraid the Central Committee plenary session on October 26 is also in doubt. Whether it is a physical illness, political "illness" is the same principle, and a political illness is even more terrifying. Since the People's Daily editorial equates the current moment to the crisis moment of life-or-death survival for the Party before the Zunyi Conference, it also means that extremely fierce struggles are inevitable, only this time the struggle has been given the banner of "comprehensive and strict governance of the Party." Oh my god, saying it like this, this means that even if Hu Chunhua is truly ill, and fell ill at such a bad time, it is equivalent to announcing that his political life has completely game-overed, and I am afraid it is even more over than over, ah. Wen Zhao said finally that before the opening of the plenary session, a series of officials were investigated, from Huang Qixin to Xia Linmao, and then to Wang Qishan's old subordinates, all of which are moves corroborating "comprehensive and strict governance of the Party." Judging from this trend, some major cases will also surface to show that "comprehensive and strict governance" is for real, ongoing, and not just putting on a show. Then it will be necessary for a fairly high-level figure to be struck down shortly after the conclusion of the Fifth Plenary Session. So who is suitable to serve as the sacrificial victim for this grand finale? Think about it carefully: there are only three days left to see whether Hu Chunhua will appear at the Fifth Plenary Session. In these three days, let's see what rumors the various factions release.

Senior media personality Yaita Akio highlighted three key points regarding the Fifth Plenary Session. First, after more than a decade of Xi Jinping's anti-corruption campaign, corruption cases remain endless. Anti-corruption has turned into "those in power deciding who should be investigated," because everyone is corrupt. Second, for the 21st CCP Congress next year, Xi Jinping is preparing to continue his hold on power. With such high centralization, Xi still feels insecure; looking around, he sees only opportunists who are not absolutely loyal, which means they are absolutely disloyal. Therefore, strict party governance and anti-corruption have become tools for redistributing political power. The Fifth Plenary Session is thus a stage for demonstrating loyalty and taking sides; whoever is willing to urge him to ascend and enthusiastically calls for Emperor Steamed Bun to begin a fourth term is considered clean, honest, and a good cadre of the Party. That's it. Finally, the 2026 Fifth Plenary Session will be a mirror image of the Sixth Plenary Session of the 11th Central Committee in 1981; the pancake has been flipped. That session negated the Cultural Revolution, opposed personality cults, and paved the way for reform and opening up; this time, it emphasizes political loyalty, political purges, personality cults, institutionalization, and long-term rule. The accelerator for reversing course is welded shut; there is no turning back. Quick poll: Do you think Xi Jinping will seek re-election at next year's 21st Congress? Here are the options: 1. Definitely will, 2. Possibly, 3. Will not, will at least partially delegate power, 4. Anything is possible. Hurry and type your number in the comments section.

By the way, the economy of Shanghai, the ceiling of the CCP's China, is truly finished; the entire economy of the CCP's China has collapsed, so where could Shanghai possibly stand alone? On October 23, former senior media personality Li Chengpeng said that late last night at 10 PM, a famous private entrepreneur with billions in assets, who had been out of contact with me for a while, called to tell me that October 22 was the final deadline for large enterprises in Shanghai to pay back taxes. He said, "I've been dealing with a mess of things lately, borrowing money everywhere. Yesterday, I finally borrowed several hundred million in cash to pay the back taxes." Borrowing several hundred million to pay taxes? Borrowing several hundred million, the hole is several hundred million. Oh my god, it scared the hell out of me. The famous private entrepreneur brother said, "It's over, everything is over." Li Chengpeng said, "I asked him why he didn't run. He said he couldn't run; he still has listed companies in the country and is completely trapped." Then we both fell silent for a few seconds; it seemed he was recalling the entire tax payment process, while I was imagining him boarding a speedboat to escape—we were thinking about completely different things. We chatted absent-mindedly for a couple of sentences, hung up, and that was it. It's over, what else can be done? Big Eye (Li Chengpeng) said, "I advised him many times to give up illusions and run away early, but he always had realistic reasons for not being able to run and couldn't make up his mind." He went through the Shanghai lockdown and this tax payment, yet he still couldn't let go. Isn't it frustrating? Big Eye said, "In this world, there is actually no place that is your hometown; the place where your heart is at peace is your hometown. What is happiness? I don't know, but I know what unhappiness is. You are already in your fifties or sixties, and a tax officer or a local policeman can shout at you and deal with you. Isn't that heartbreaking? Remember, yesterday was the last day for tax payments; after that, you have to pay late fees. If you still can't pay, the state will hit you with an iron fist so hard you won't even recognize your own mother." Big Eye was talking about those who owe hundreds of millions; ordinary people can't reach that level, but it's not working for them either—nothing is working.

I saw a post that was particularly tragic. What did it say? The opening line was: I never expected Shanghai's economy to have deteriorated to this extent. Last night, I had dinner with six of my college classmates, and as it turned out, four of them were unemployed, and another one was in "flexible employment." I originally thought we were just getting together to vent a little bit, but as soon as we sat down, the atmosphere felt off. What happened? In the past, whenever we gathered, everyone would rush to scan the QR code and order the best, most expensive dishes. Tonight, however, they spent ages hunched over their phones calculating group-buying discount coupons, looking completely deflated. Moreover, not a single person proactively brought up the word "work"; everyone was entirely focused on discussing which supermarket's eggs were on discount, or whose kid had been withdrawn from early childhood education classes. That guy in flexible employment used to be a senior director with a mortgage of over 20,000 yuan. Now, he religiously goes to the library every single day to pretend he is going to work, not even daring to buy a cup of Luckin Coffee, filling his thermos with free hot water instead—how deeply awkward! As for the other four who lost their jobs, two of them even had their social security payments cut off, saying they can only rely on financial help from their elderly parents back home, sigh. Another one said he doesn't even dare go to Starbucks anymore, and spends every day sending out resumes at the sub-district office's free reading room—it's utterly miserable. Another classmate who used to work in real estate just sold his car a couple of days ago and secretly started driving a ride-hailing car, terrified of running into anyone he knows. What else can he do? What completely broke me was when the bill came at the end. In the past, everyone would fight to pay the whole bill, but today, with tacit understanding, someone created a split-payment group chat and turned it into AA style. One older brother even secretly private-mesaged me, saying, "Brother, I don't have enough money in WeChat, can you help me cover it first? I'll pay you back the second I get my salary." Oh my god, they've been reduced to such dire straits that they can't even afford their share of an AA-style meal! This is the glittering, neon-lit surface of Shanghai, yet underneath it is a deeply polarized metropolis where the poor and the former pseudo-middle class are finding it genuinely harder and harder to survive, and not just in a trivial way. Because of the massive stock market crash, one investor lost everything and went bankrupt; they've already ordered a funeral wreath online to send to the bronze bull at the Shanghai Stock Exchange. Yes, with a label like that: Gate 4 of the Shanghai Financial Exchange Plaza, hang it right around the bull's neck. Hanging a funeral wreath during a bull market means bidding a complete, final farewell to the corpse of one's former dream of getting rich—the dream of making a fortune, the Shanghai dream, and the Chinese dream all shattered together.

Writer Teacher Li's breaking news account posted a video about the moment Gen Z youth break down. A post-2000s girl who moved from Chengdu to Shanghai for work published a video tearfully complaining about the hardships of working and living in Shanghai. The woman said that her salary for the first month was only 2,700 yuan, which was even less than what she earned working in Chengdu. In order to come to Shanghai for work, her family had also subsidized a lot of money. Faced with the high cost of living and less-than-ideal income, she began to doubt the point of going to university, and even felt lost about the future. Look over here, I've been in Shanghai from Chengdu for several months now, coming here in July. At the time, I carried this ambition—well, not so much ambition, just that I could make money in Shanghai, that I could save so much money in a year. After coming here, it was all about job hunting, tossing and turning, struggling for a very long time. When I checked my salary, it was only 2700. But when I saw that number at the time, I was completely blank, I didn't understand why it was so little. When I first came to Shanghai, because of acclimatization issues, I started getting allergies and all sorts of things. Then at my previous job, because of green stem poisoning, I started running a fever. After being here for so long, my family has subsidized a lot of money, yet I haven't earned any money myself; I'm still living at my sister's place. Only recently did I start doubting myself, asking whether I am really that useless. Right now, I'm genuinely thinking that if I had known it would turn out like this, I shouldn't have gone to university in the first place. After graduating, I feel like I'm useless at everything, like I don't have a single marketable skill, and I don't even know what on earth I'm doing out here in the real world.

Sigh, information blockades make it impossible to see the real China; people still think Shanghai is an employment paradise. Central News Agency reported that Shanghai's office vacancy rate is 24.5%, the highest among the world's top 20 cities. Oh, is it that bad? Yes, the report says that as foreign capital withdraws from China and local companies reduce office leasing, office vacancy rates in China are rising. Japanese real estate services giant CBRE compared the office vacancy rates of 20 global cities in the second quarter of this year, with Shanghai ranking first at 24.5% and Beijing ranking 8th at 17.9%. Oh, two of the top eight are in there, and one is number one. Nikkei Chinese reported that one of the backgrounds for Shanghai's office vacancies is the withdrawal of foreign enterprises. According to the second-quarter balance of payments data released by the State Administration of Foreign Exchange of the CCP, net inflows of foreign direct investment fell by 23% compared to the first quarter. In addition to Europe and the United States, some Japanese companies have also reduced their investment in China. Wouldn't you say this is shooting oneself in the foot—asking for it? They stir up Little Pinks to be anti-Japanese for no reason. At night, looking out from the Bund at the skyscrapers in Lujiazui, it is still brightly lit, but influencers on social media have conducted field surveys of office buildings near the Oriental Pearl Tower, and many offices are completely empty, not even renovated, with only the exterior lights on. Look here, brightly lit and dazzling, it's just a huge fraudulent backdrop. So, has the Shanghai Municipal Party Committee and Municipal Government already deployed robot police to patrol the streets? If they catch anyone randomly filming with long-lens cameras, they pin them to the ground, handcuff them, and treat them as undercover agents for foreign forces. My god, it's too eerie. Coming out in the middle of the night, floating on the ground, it's like an electronic ghost. Netizens are even saying, why not make the electronic ghost look like Xi Jinping? Wouldn't that be even scarier? The people of Shanghai are terrified, exclaiming that paper effigies and tin men are parading in the middle of the night—an omen of great disaster. Shanghai Party Secretary Chen Jining said, let it be a disaster, no matter how bad Shanghai's economy gets, it won't affect my promotion to the Standing Committee of the CCP Central Committee. That's where it's at. Alright

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