Official Confirms Position Swap Between Shi Taifeng and Li Ganjie, Potentially Involving Blaming Xi?

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has officially confirmed the job swap between CCP Politburo members Shi Taifeng and Li Ganjie, with Shi Taifeng taking on the role of Minister of the CCP Organization Department, and Li Ganjie becoming the Minister of the United Front Work Department. Analysts suggest that CCP leader Xi Jinping may be shifting the blame onto the current Organization Department Minister Li Ganjie as many senior officials handpicked by Xi have fallen from grace in recent years.

According to CCP state media reports, CCP Organization Department Minister Shi Taifeng today (April 2nd) listened to a briefing on the implementation status of the central government’s eight-point regulations within the department. This is the first official disclosure of his new position.

Furthermore, CCP state media reported that the Central Committee of various “democratic parties” and non-party individuals held a symposium on ecological and environmental protection democratic supervision in Beijing today. CCP Politburo Standing Committee member and Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) Wang Huning attended and spoke at the meeting. United Front Work Department Minister Li Ganjie presided over the meeting.

The CCP Organization Department Minister is responsible for all internal personnel decisions within the CCP and is often seen as holding the most real power. On the other hand, the United Front Work Department, responsible for expanding the CCP’s influence over religion, ethnic minorities, as well as Hong Kong and Taiwan, is considered the CCP’s largest espionage agency by outsiders.

Official media outlets have not provided any explanation for the job swap between the two officials.

Reuters quoted analysts who reported that senior CCP officials and ministers are occasionally appointed to new positions to prevent them from building local factions or power bases. Nevertheless, it is unprecedented in CCP history for members of the Politburo to be swapped between positions.

Song Wendai, a researcher at the Atlantic Council’s Global China Center, stated: “This restructuring indicates that Xi Jinping believes that, given the recent wave of purges within the leadership over the past two years, the Organization Department has not done a good enough job in vetting senior leadership candidates.”

In the past two years, two former Ministers of National Defense of the CCP, Wei Feng and Li Shangfu, were investigated on corruption charges, former Minister of Foreign Affairs Qin Gang was suddenly removed with his whereabouts unknown. In November last year, Miao Hua, a member of the Central Military Commission and Director of the Political Work Department of the Military Commission, seen as a close ally of Xi Jinping, was also dismissed. According to official CCP media, all top members of the Central Committee post the 20th Party Congress were personally scrutinized by Xi Jinping. Many analysts believe that the downfall of these high-ranking officials has greatly eroded Xi’s authority.

Political commentator Li Lin suggested to Epoch Times that Xi Jinping may be trying to shift blame for personnel issues. Li Ganjie, a technocratic bureaucrat, has a background similar to his predecessor at the Organization Department, Chen Xi, both from Tsinghua University. However, his relationship with Xi seems less close, making it difficult for him to manage personnel. If he is now in charge of United Front work, it may just be a nominal role.

Moreover, this adjustment likely reflects internal power struggles within Xi’s camp. Relative to the Tsinghua faction where Li Ganjie belongs, the Central Party School faction where Shi Taifeng belongs appears to be more influential.

Shi Taifeng, 68, previously held long-term positions at the Central Party School. He served as the Executive Vice President during Xi Jinping’s tenure as the President of the Central Party School from 2007 to 2012. Shi has also served as the Secretary of the Suzhou Municipal Party Committee, Governor of Jiangsu Province, Party Secretary of Ningxia, Party Secretary of Inner Mongolia, and President of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. He entered the Politburo at the 20th Party Congress and also serves as the First Vice Chairman of the National Committee of the CPPCC.

Li Ganjie, 60, has long worked within the CCP’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment. He previously served as the Deputy Minister and Director of the National Nuclear Safety Administration, Deputy Party Secretary of Hebei Province in 2016, Minister of the CCP’s Environmental Protection Ministry in 2017, Minister of the restructured Ministry of Ecology and Environment, and was later parachuted to serve as the Governor and Party Secretary of Shandong Province. He entered the Politburo at the 20th Party Congress, succeeding Chen Xi as the Minister of the Organization Department.

Earlier today, political commentator Li Lin also indicated to Epoch Times that swapping the heads of the Organization Department and the United Front Work Department implies significant changes to the CCP’s strategy towards Taiwan.

He stated that starting from 2022, Shi Taifeng held considerable power as Minister of the United Front Work Department, Vice Chairman of the CPPCC, and ranked second in the Secretariat of the Central Committee (with Cai Qi as the first). Looking back now, the alignment of Wang Huning, Shi Taifeng, and Song Tao highlights Xi Jinping’s intention to leverage buying, infiltration, and division in Taiwan to lay the groundwork for the so-called “unification.” However, Taiwan recently launched severe counterattacks against CCP infiltration, resulting in setbacks to the CCP’s initial plans. If Shi Taifeng, who was leading the “unification” efforts, is also removed, the CCP’s future strategy towards Taiwan is likely to undergo significant changes.