China expelled a record number of Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials at the end of a major political gathering, which saw an unprecedented number of empty seats, indicating the scale of the purges carried out under Xi Jinping.
A record 33 members were expelled during this week’s fifth plenum, a gathering of top officials that takes place about once a year.
Only 279 full and alternate members of the CPC Central Committee attended this week’s gathering, compared to 376 initially appointed members in 2022. This means that more than 25% of the original cohort was absent, most due to purges. This is the largest number of “empty chairs” at a plenum in modern Chinese history.
The confirmed expulsions included Zhang Youxia, the Chinese leader’s former second-in-command in the military hierarchy, and Ma Xingrui, the former Party secretary for Xinjiang. Other absences were unexplained.
“More empty seats underscore the plenum’s emphasis on Xi’s vision of strict internal discipline,” Neil Thomas, a senior fellow at the Asia Society think tank, said in an article on X.
The theme of this week’s plenum was party governance. Since coming to power in 2012, Xi has focused on rooting out corruption within the party. But in recent years the campaign has intensified, eliminating officials at the highest levels of the party and the military, raising questions about whether the campaign is also a tool to eliminate political rivals or punish disloyalty.
Xi appears to be increasingly frustrated by what he sees as a lack of discipline within the ranks of the party that exercises absolute authority over state and society in China. Earlier this year he said the party needed to uproot “diseased trees” and that the fight against corruption was a “never-ending journey”.
A series of purges has gutted the seven-member Central Military Commission, the governing body of China’s People’s Liberation Army. Only two members remain: Xi himself and the military’s anti-corruption czar, Zhang Shengmin.
Zhang was promoted this week to the CPC Politburo, the party’s highest governing body. Zhang is now the only military member of the senior leadership body.
The plenum also laid the groundwork for the 21st Party Congress, an event that takes place every five years and is expected to be held in the second half of 2027. Xi is expected to secure a fourth term as party leader, making him Communist China’s longest-serving leader since Mao Zedong.
The ranks of the Central Committee and Politburo will be refreshed at next year’s congress, but many analysts believe the recent purges have been of such magnitude that there are few candidates suitable for promotion.
Gn headline
