Public Discontent in China Grows as CCP Wraps Up Fourth Plenum
Udumbara
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While state media touted economic progress, citizens and observers described worsening hardship, political contradictions, and fading public trust in Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s rule.
On China’s streets, the mood was far less triumphant.
Rhetoric, Reality
The communiqué laid out broad economic and social goals for China’s upcoming 15th Five-Year Plan, pledging to strengthen the foundation of the real economy, build a robust domestic market, and expand domestic demand in the next five years.On the ground, economic hardship is widespread.
“Unemployment is everywhere, and businesses are collapsing en masse,” a mainland scholar, using the pseudonym Jin Yan for safety reasons, told The Epoch Times.
“Walk down the street and you’ll see shuttered shops on both sides. Overall, the people’s livelihoods are in decline.”
He said the reality stands in stark contrast to official optimism, with high unemployment and delayed paychecks, even among the CCP’s government employees. He said the CCP’s communiqué was a blatant lie.
According to Jin, open criticism of the CCP and Xi is becoming more common, even in places once tightly monitored.
Party’s Facade
A social activist spoke to The Epoch Times using the pseudonym Wang Hua. He said that the problems in Chinese society extend beyond the real economy.“Nothing is working now, the virtual economy, the private sector, nothing,” he said. “China’s ‘internal [economic] circulation’ can’t function anymore, so it’s surviving on exports. If trade is cut off by trade wars, the system collapses.”
Wang described the CCP’s image of unity as a facade hiding fierce internal conflict. He said the recent shake-ups within the Central Military Commission (CMC) only highlight instability at the top.
Contradictions in CCP’s Plan
Former Chinese criminal defense lawyer Zuo Zhihai, who fled China earlier this year, told The Epoch Times that the plenum revealed deep contradictions within the Party’s governance model.“The Fourth Plenum was essentially about consolidating control and dividing up China’s resources among the elite,” Zuo said. “Xi Jinping still dominates, but like Stalin or Lenin, dictators eventually pay the price.”
He noted that the plenum’s theme—Chinese-style modernization and national rejuvenation—is contradictory. Zuo said that true modernization requires political reform and public accountability, conditions that the CCP lacks. Under its one-party rule, he said, no one is truly free.
“You either serve the Party or be treated as second-class citizens,” he said.
Zuo pointed out the inconsistencies between the Party’s messaging, such as “the Party’s comprehensive leadership” versus “people first.”
Empty Promises, Rising Discontent
Across China, public disillusionment with the CCP’s political slogans appears to be spreading.“Every time the top leadership meets like this, it’s a disaster for ordinary citizens,” Jin said. “Beijing locks down, stability measures tighten, and daily life is disrupted. I think public anger is widespread. I know the communiqué is full of empty talk and lies that don’t match reality.”
Jin said the regime’s decline feels inevitable, though the process may be long and painful.
“Despotism makes life harder for everyone,” he said. “Economic deterioration will only deepen. The real question is how fast people awaken, and whether they’ll take steps to bring about change.”
Wang echoed that sentiment.
“When half the people wake up, [the regime] won’t exist anymore,” he said. “You don’t have to fight it. It will collapse under its own weight. No matter how loud it boasts now, the reckoning will come.”
