Beijing Is Mobilizing Troops! Zhang Youxia Arrested, Reports of a Gunfight at Jingxi Hotel

On January 24, Chinese state media announced the fall of Zhang Youxia, vice-chairman of the Central Military Commission, and Liu Zhenli, a member of the Commission. Former Chinese officials revealed that Zhang and Liu's coup attempt failed.

After Zhang's arrest, CCP leader Xi Jinping grew concerned that Zhang's supporters might mobilize military forces to march on Beijing, potentially triggering a large-scale rebellion. Tensions were said to be rising in Zhongnanhai, the heart of CCP’s government. Democracy can be very messy at times. Coup is short for coup d'etat which is a French phrase. The 'p' is silent and is pronounced 'coo'. 

Unless you mean that the CCP is encountering a chicken coop! Wouldn’t be surprise if a number of many other generals wanting to get the hell out of China, before they’re purged. So guys anyone wants to support the CCP? 

To be taken with a veeery large grain of salt. Canadian dissident writer Sheng Xue has published explosive claims about an alleged coup attempt against Xi Jinping that reportedly turned into a deadly gunfight at Beijing's Jingxi Hotel on 18 January 2026. 

According to intelligence passed to Sheng by a source identified as "Mr X", Central Military Commission Vice Chairman Zhang Youxia and senior military figure Liu Zhenli planned to arrest Xi that evening, but the operation was compromised two hours before execution when someone tipped off Xi about the conspiracy. 

Mr X's account describes Xi leaving the Jingxi Hotel immediately after receiving the warning, quietly arranging counter-measures while Zhang's forces remained unaware their plot had been exposed. When Zhang's advance personnel arrived at the hotel, they encountered Xi's security forces in what the source claims was a gunfight that killed nine of Xi's bodyguards and "dozens" of Zhang's personnel. 

Xi then ordered immediate arrests of Zhang, Liu, and their entire families. The source notes Xi has maintained no fixed residence for years, constantly rotating between locations every few days, and suggests online speculation that Xi deliberately used the Jingxi Hotel as bait to draw out Zhang "is partly correct". 

The source claims Zhang and Liu felt compelled to act because of Xi's relentless military purges, pointing to the successive removals of Central Military Commission members He Weidong, Miao Hua, and Li Shangfu. The conspirators reportedly believed their operation would succeed and saw no point protecting their families beforehand, as doing so would have exposed the plot. 

Mr X adds that Xi had already planted numerous informants around their families anyway, making advance arrangements futile. Xi's mother and sister, who live at the Shenzhen Guest House, were reportedly terrified upon learning of the attempt. Security measures around them have been dramatically increased, with the entire guest house now under strict lockdown and heavy external guard. 

Mr X claims Xi himself was severely shaken by how close the threat came, describing the incident as having "badly frightened" the Chinese leader. This would represent the fourth attempt on Xi's life or power, according to Mr X. He references a 2013 incident involving Zhou Yongkang, who allegedly sent an assassin that killed Xi's bodyguard and grazed Xi's leg with a bullet, after which Xi disappeared from public view for approximately 20 days before Zhou and his son were arrested. 

The conversation draws parallels to Mao Zedong's tactics, specifically how Mao solicited criticism from Peng Dehuai about the Great Leap Forward before suddenly weaponising it into a political attack at a 23 July meeting. Mr X speculates Xi now faces two paths: either abolishing the Central Military Commission and ruling until death with increasingly brutal centralisation, or rapidly stepping down under pressure from his frightened family.

Sheng observes the speed of the official announcement about Zhang's detention suggests Xi is using public messaging to warn others against similar actions, describing the situation as a "vicious cycle" where Xi's extreme suspicion and constant purges create the very disloyalty he fears, particularly as the CCP system operates as an opaque "black box" where everyone constantly schemes against one another.