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Anonymous online call for president to quit sparks furious manhunt for its author, betraying paranoia at top of Communist party

It wasn’t a very long letter – the equivalent of about 920 words in English and it appeared only briefly on a Chinese website.

But its content was potentially incendiary. It called for president Xi Jinping to resign.

Many China watchers initially dismissed it as a prank, as opposed to a sign of real dissension within the ruling Communist party.

But only a few weeks later, the mysterious letter has taken on a life of its own – largely because of the government’s reaction to it.

State security agents have detained more than two dozen people thought to be linked to the letter’s distribution. They scrubbed the Chinese internet of all search terms related to it. They have also detained and harassed family members of exiled Chinese journalists who commented on the letter, and even tried to get one of those commentaries retracted by a German broadcaster.

Party leaders apparently see the letter as a real threat, China experts have concluded, and so have launched a manhunt to determine how it became an internet sensation.

“In the beginning this letter didn’t seem like much,” said Bill Bishop, author of the Sinocism newsletter, which tracks Chinese politics.

“But now, given the reaction, it has become much more important. They are going after multiple people, in China and now outside of China.”

The manhunt comes as Xi confronts challenges on multiple fronts. China’s economy is slowing and its state-owned industries are resisting Xi’s calls for reform. Within the party, many functionaries are chaffing at Xi’s anti-corruption crusade, widely seen as a way for him to consolidate power.

The letter calling for Xi’s resignation included a point-by-point critique of his leadership failures. It was also written in a style – signed by “loyal Communist party members” – that has left many wondering who authored it.

“Comrade Xi Jinping, we feel that you do not possess the capabilities to lead the party and the nation into the future, and we believe that you are no longer suitable for the post of general secretary,” the letter stated. “For the party cause, for the long-term peace and stability of the country, and for your own personal safety and that of your family, we ask you to resign from all positions …”

Willy Lam, a professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong who specialises in the party’s politics, said he did not think the letter originated from a party official. The style and word choice, he said, suggested it was written by a Chinese national abroad.

Yet Lam said the letter reflected conversations that elite Chinese were having about the cult of personality Xi has created for himself, and his handling of the economy and foreign affairs. The president, he said, may feel threatened that a letter reflecting those concerns was aired in China, and so wanted to find out who was responsible.

“It speaks to the paranoia that surrounds Xi’s leadership,” said Lam, author of a recent book on the Chinese president called Chinese Politics in the Era of Xi Jinping. “In the process of amassing all this power, he has made multiple enemies, more than his predecessors.

“So now you have this paradox. The more power he obtains, the more paranoid he gets.”

The timing of the letter’s publication also raised eyebrows. It was circulated right before the start of China’s legislative session, a time when the party leadership likes to project an image of national unity and party solidarity.

The letter was first published online by Canyu, a US-based Chinese-language website edited by Cai Chu, a human rights activist.

As of Thursday, Canyu was offline, the apparent victim of a hacking attack, according to Cai.

The letter then briefly appeared on Wujie, a Chinese news site, on 4 March. Censors took it down the same day, but by then it had been shared within China and was soon being republished and translated outside of the country.

Chinese authorities moved quickly, detaining Wujie’s staff and effectively shutting down the site for original content. Authorities also detained a Chinese journalist, Jia Jia, who had reportedly warned Wujie’s editors not to republish the letter. He has since been released.

Over the last week, two exiled Chinese journalists say they have become targets of the manhunt.

Wen Yunchao, a New York blogger and rights activist, reported last Friday that Guangdong province police had detained his elderly parents and brother, and were questioning them about Wen’s ties to the Xi letter. Wen quickly denied having anything to do with the letter, other than sharing it on Twitter. On Wednesday, Wen said his family members had been released.

Chang Ping, a Chinese journalist exiled in Germany, said his family members were also detained by police – apparent in retaliation for a commentary Chang had written for the German broadcaster Deutsche Welle, criticising the detention of Jia Jia. Chang, whose family members were also released this week, said police demanded that Chang retract the commentary and have it taken down from the Deutsche Welle website, which he refused to do.

Media organisations and human rights groups have criticised China’s targeting of Wen and Chang’s family members. Some are curious why China would go to such repressive lengths over a 920-word letter.

“One can’t help but notice how the tactic is backfiring,” said William Nee, a China researcher for Amnesty International in Hong Kong. “Conducting an aggressive manhunt against anyone allegedly involved in commenting on the letter only serves to put more attention on the letter, giving it a longer shelf life.”

Bishop agrees. China’s international reputation is only being harmed by the overreach, he said.

“If there were a Golden Boot for own-goals,” he said, “China would win it every year.”

• This article was amended on 1 April 2016. An earlier version referred to Deutsche Welle as a newspaper. This has been corrected.