{"id":694217,"date":"2023-06-28T16:46:47","date_gmt":"2023-06-28T23:46:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/?p=694217"},"modified":"2023-06-29T16:04:21","modified_gmt":"2023-06-29T23:04:21","slug":"weibo-users-dub-wagner-group-rebellion-a-real-life-version-of-eliminating-the-emperors-cronies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/2023\/06\/weibo-users-dub-wagner-group-rebellion-a-real-life-version-of-eliminating-the-emperors-cronies\/","title":{"rendered":"Weibo Users Dub Wagner Group Rebellion a \u201cReal-life Version of \u2018Eliminating the Emperor\u2019s Cronies\u2019\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
An antiquated Chinese political phrase enjoyed a brief revival when it was dusted off and used by some online commentators to describe the series of events known variously as the \u201cWagner Group Revolt<\/a>\/Rebellion\/Insurrection\/Mutiny\/etc.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n The phrase \u201celiminating the Emperor\u2019s cronies\u201d (\u6e05\u541b\u4fa7, q\u012bng j\u016bn c\u00e8<\/em>) refers to the removal of powerful but treacherous courtiers and officials from the ambit of a reigning emperor by another group claiming fealty to the emperor. For millennia, it has been used to justify all manner of palace coups, usurpations, and uprisings, including the Rebellion of the Seven States<\/a> (154 B.C.E.) against the Han Dynasty Emperor Jing; the An Lushan Rebellion<\/a> (755-763 C.E) that sought to topple the Tang Dynasty; and the Jingnan Campaign<\/a> (1399-1402 C.E.), a three-year civil war between supporters of two rival Ming Dynasty claimants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The phrase began popping up on Weibo over the weekend, following reports that troops from the Wagner Group, a private Russian paramilitary organization led by Yevgeny Prigozhin, were marching toward Moscow to challenge attempts by the Russian Ministry of Defense to subsume Wagner troops into its own command structure. Aware of Prigozhin\u2019s close ties with Putin\u2014and of Prigozhin\u2019s long-running rivalry with top military brass<\/a>, mainly Minister of Defense Sergei Shoigu and Armed Forces Chief Valery Gerasimov\u2014some Chinese netizens described the incident as \u201ca real-life version of \u2018eliminating the Emperor\u2019s cronies.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Almost as quickly as \u201celiminating the Emperor\u2019s cronies\u201d resurfaced, the phrase was being search-censored on Weibo<\/a>, with queries yielding the error message, \u201cIn accordance with relevant laws, regulations, and government policies, search results cannot be displayed.\u201d In response, many Weibo users tried to circumvent censorship by using variants of the phrase, such as \u201celiminating the cronies of the Emperor\u201d (\u6e05\u541b\u4e4b\u4fa7, q\u012bng j\u016bn zh\u012b c\u00e8<\/em>) and \u201cpolicy of eliminating the Emperor\u2019s cronies\u201d (\u6e05\u541b\u7b56, q\u012bng j\u016bn c\u00e8<\/em>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Some on social media speculated that the censorship reflected the Chinese leadership\u2019s deep-seated fears about similar challenges to its own power base. Others noted<\/a> that the term had been censored on Weibo in the past, most notably in June of 2015. A CDT Chinese post dated June 19, 2015 included the phrase in a list of \u201csensitive words<\/a>\u201d from that month. At that time, the phrase was likely verboten because it was being used by citizens online to ridicule \u201cthe delusion of a healthy balance of power within the CCP.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n At present, the Wagner Group Revolt seems to have wound down: Russian authorities have said that they will not press charges against Prigozhin<\/a> or his followers, Wagner Group troops fighting in Ukraine have been commanded to turn over their heavy weaponry to the Russian military, and Prigozhin is reportedly in exile in Belarus<\/a>. Meanwhile, Chinese authorities have called the brief insurrection Moscow\u2019s \u201cinternal affair<\/a>,\u201d with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and state media weighing in to affirm China\u2019s general support for Russia<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Yet those anodyne statements may mask deeper uncertainties among the Chinese leadership about the potential for further instability<\/a> in Russia, the future of the Sino-Russian \u201cno-limits partnership,<\/a>\u201d and even control of the military at home. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Reporting on reactions from the Chinese government, state media, academics, and pundits, Foreign Policy\u2019s James Palmer analyzed what the Wagner revolt might bode for China<\/strong><\/a>: <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Putin\u2019s apparently weakened position is inconvenient for China, which is why the limited coverage within the country has tended to emphasize<\/a> Russia\u2019s supposed stability and blame the West for suggesting otherwise. My bet is that Russian diplomats will tell their Chinese colleagues the Prigozhin affair was a CIA plot\u2014a narrative that will fall on receptive ears. Yet the chaotic events will add extra weight to the arguments of a small group of intellectuals<\/a> who say Beijing may have blundered by putting so many chips on Moscow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But that could be an increasingly risky argument. It takes little to trigger paranoid leaders such as Xi. Given how closely Xi has aligned himself with Putin, the Russian leader\u2019s weakness won\u2019t lead to Beijing disassociating from Moscow\u2014unless Putin falls completely. Rather, it\u2019s likely Chinese officials and pundits will double down on rhetorical support for Russia out of fear that criticism of Putin could be read as criticism of Xi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But the Wagner insurrection could also ultimately increase cautiousness in Beijing. Despite pro-Russian propaganda, many Chinese institutions have hedged their bets<\/a> when it comes to how far they\u2019re willing to go to help Moscow. After all, a country where it isn\u2019t certain who will be in charge on Monday is not a reliable partner. [Source<\/strong><\/a>]<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" An antiquated Chinese political phrase enjoyed a brief revival when it was dusted off and used by some online commentators to describe the series of events known variously as the \u201cWagner Group Revolt\/Rebellion\/Insurrection\/Mutiny\/etc.” The phrase \u201celiminating the Emperor\u2019s cronies\u201d (\u6e05\u541b\u4fa7, q\u012bng j\u016bn c\u00e8) refers to the removal of powerful but treacherous courtiers and officials from […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1084,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[99,116,14744,100,4202],"tags":[1173,1301,15922,15349,2638,7069,1369,7701,728,14855,17622,7797,2623,15476,5934,6291,17906,17919,6473,4674],"class_list":["post-694217","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-cdt-highlights","category-world","category-level-2-article","category-politics","category-translation","tag-alliance","tag-allies","tag-armed-conflict","tag-ccp-leadership","tag-ccp-legitimacy","tag-chinese-diplomacy","tag-diplomacy","tag-international-relations","tag-military","tag-ministry-of-foreign-affairs","tag-online-censorship","tag-political-instability","tag-political-satire","tag-political-security","tag-russia","tag-russia-relations","tag-sensitive-words","tag-social-media-censorship","tag-vladimir-putin","tag-xi-jinping","et-doesnt-have-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"yoast_head":"\n\n