The fact that Jia Jia himself has apparently denied personal involvement or complicity in a letter by party dissenters calling for Xi's resignation is a clear proof that these opposition figures' obvious attempt to garner public sympathy for their position has been thoroughly thwarted. There can be little doubt that, as we speak, a whole host of people with any suspected connection to the piece originally published on Wujie News are in detention and being ruthlessly interrogated - that is, if they haven't already made overtures to the authorities to avoid such a fate (which might entail revealing secret information about the authors and publishers, even if it means betraying friends or associates).
In the wake of this incident, far from a weakened Xi Jinping with less control over a more disobedient party bureaucracy, an even more authoritarian one-man system could well emerge - with internal dissension even less likely to surface in any publicly visible fashion.
In recent months, it would appear that disenchantment within the party with Mr. Xi's creeping totalitarianism has reached a fever pitch; that at least some voices of dissent have leaked out was hardly surprising. Yet the true balance of power is now being unmistakably exposed: dissent is essentially futile, even suicidal - no matter how widespread it might be in the party ranks, there's nothing anyone can do about Xi's complete stranglehold on the military and the police state. And not many Chinese either within or outside the party want to go to jail to make their discontent heard.
As I posted recently, China is on the verge of Cultural Revolution lite. It's now open season on disgruntled party officials, opposition journalists and intellectuals, independent activists, suspected foreign sympathizers, and just about anyone who dares question the legitimacy of Xi Jinping's new political line in any way, anytime and anywhere.
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