Disturbing rumors are spreading that sometime this autumn there will be a large-scale purge in the Chinese Communist Party. As if to substantiate the rumors, the party's Propaganda Department, which is dominated by conservatives, has stepped up unabashed ideological control.

As if in response, the so-called leftists who revere Mao Zedong's teachings are actively organizing rallies and attacking democracy-minded intellectuals as "traitors" over the Internet.

Behind these moves is the move of President Xi Jinping, who, three months into his position, has made no attempt to hide his conservative nature. This has disappointed many intellectuals within the party as they see little or no chance of reforms being implemented by Xi, who they say "is an ex-member of the Red Guards after all."