Twenty people were detained in China in connection with the recent publication of an anonymous letter demanding President Xi Jinping’s resignation, a media report said on Friday. The anonymous letter written in the name of “loyal Communist Party supporters”, while appreciating Xi’s sweeping anti-corruption drive, had accused him of promoting “personality cult, not allowing ‘rash opinions of central leadership’, creating a ‘one voice party’ method,” disregarding the collective leadership principle, the BBC reported.

Thousands of officials were punished in the anti-graft drive in the last three years after XI assumed charge. The letter said, “Dear Comrade Xi Jinping, we are loyal Communist Party members. We write this letter asking you to resign from all party and state leadership positions.

“We make this request out of consideration for the Party cause, out of consideration for the nation and its people — and also out of consideration for your personal safety and that of your family,” the letter published by a host of foreign media, including the BBC, said.

The letter was posted earlier this month on state-backed website Wujie News creating an uproar in the media circles here as the state-run media operates under tightly controlled supervision of the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC).

Although quickly deleted by the authorities, a cached version can still be found online.

The arrest of 20 people followed the disappearance of a Chinese columnist Jia Jia who was reportedly went missing while boarding a flight to Hong Kong from here.

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