It's not surprising many higher-ups want to get rid of the leftists. After all many of them benefited the most from market reforms since they were closest to the source of financial capital and liberalization policies. Leftists present an existential threat to their arguably ill-gotten gains/assets. Why do you think class struggles are no longer mentioned in Chinese media?
Also PRC doesn't have elections to serve as a convenient release valve for public frustration. CCP can't just put up a political show every few years, it has to deal with discontent among its people eventually. I mean one could even argue that the demographic problem is the result of silent resistance from young people. Why have babies when your children would most likely face even more competitive pressure and have even less of chance of social mobility?
