Xi’s Shortened Trip Arouses Suspicion

According to Hong Kong pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily, an insider confirms that the Chinese communist party, or CCP, head Xi Jinping has returned to Beijing from his visit to southern China. Xi's trip brought him to Guangdong province. 广东 There, he gave a speech to mark the 40th Anniversary Celebration of the Shenzhen 深圳 Special Economic Zone on Wednesday. The event comes at a crucial time for China, as the country faces both domestic and international challenges. With the public eye focused on him, many expected Xi to cover more ground during the trip. But in a surprise move, he returned to Beijing after just 3 days. On Thursday (15th October), The Chinese regime's media mouthpiece Xinhua News Agency 新华社 unexpectedly published a conclusion report about Xi’s trip to Guangdong. The sudden end to Xi's trip aroused suspicion. In China, information related to regime leaders, like details about their families, health, and agendas, is concealed from the public. That means Chinese people must often piece the limited information together, in an attempt to discover what's really going on. This case is no exception. During his speech at the anniversary event, Xi coughed several times over a short period and spoke noticeably slower than usual. As a result, some suspect his visit was cut short due to health reasons. This is the third time Xi has visited Guangdong province. He made a stop at its capital city of Guangzhou 广州 during his last trip there, but not this time. According to the Apple Daily report, China expert Willy Lam Lin Heli (林和立) thinks this may be related to one of the most important annual party meetings: the Fifth Plenary Session of the CCP Central Committee. 五中全会