As China’s Fourth Plenum Opens, Tight Security Meets Public Disillusionment

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The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) Fourth Plenum of the 20th Central Committee opened in Beijing on Monday, with heightened security across the capital and renewed skepticism about whether the high-level political gathering—seen as a key test of the regime’s control—will address ordinary people’s economic and social concerns.

The four-day meeting, held from Oct. 20 to 23 at the high-profile Jingxi Hotel, where key CCP sessions are traditionally convened, comes more than a year later than originally scheduled without any official explanation. It brings together around 200 full Central Committee members and 170 alternates to review a work report from the CCP’s Politburo and discuss a draft of the 15th “Five-Year Plan” for national economic and social development.

Outside the heavily guarded venue, police vehicles and security personnel were stationed throughout the area.

“There was a police car and a special vehicle full of antennas parked outside the hotel,” Zhao, a Beijing resident who asked to only use his surname, told The Epoch Times. “Traffic police were ordering people to move quickly. The atmosphere was very tense.”

He said police were searching passersby’s bags and checking IDs. “I saw them checking a woman’s ID card—she looked like a petitioner,” he said.

Hu Jiangsheng, a retired worker from Taizhou in Jiangsu Province, told The Epoch Times, “The Party holds meetings every year, but we don’t understand those documents. I just hope medical costs stop rising and more medicines can be reimbursed. Lately, the insurance system has stopped covering many drugs. Life is getting harder.”

Li from Liaoning Province, who also asked to only use her surname, said she had been hiding there for a month.

“The police are everywhere arresting people,” she told The Epoch Times. “I can’t go to Beijing or go home, so I’m staying here until the Plenum ends. There are at least a dozen petitioners in this building alone.”

A report released this month by the CCP’s own National Bureau of Statistics showed that household income growth has slowed and consumer sentiment remains subdued.

Wang Juan, a factory worker from Xiangyang, Hubei Province, told The Epoch Times that she has seen no improvement in cost of living, especially health care.

“Medical costs keep going up, and medicine is more expensive,” she said. “The government holds so many meetings, but medical care just gets worse.”

Zhang from Beijing, who also did not wish to reveal his full name, has been fighting a yearslong property dispute.

“They talk about ‘common prosperity,’ but ordinary people can’t even defend their rights. Who has time to watch the Plenum?” he said to The Epoch Times.

A restaurant worker in Tianjin also told The Epoch Times: “We just hope housing prices don’t fall further and our wages don’t get cut again. The government says it’s stabilizing the economy, but we’re just worried about losing customers every day.”

On Chinese social media, the topic “ordinary people feel nothing about the Fourth Plenum” has sparked widespread discussion. Many netizens voiced concerns about gas prices and social insurance programs.

Officially, the Fourth Plenum is primarily focused on long-term planning for the nation’s economy, social agenda, and on consolidating Party control.