China expels record number of officials from CCP

33 MISSING: The unprecedented number of empty seats at the fifth plenum, an annual gathering of top officials, serve as a symbol of the extent of the purges under Xi Jinping

China expelled a record number of officials from the Chinese Communist party (CCP) as it concluded a major political gathering, which saw an unprecedented number of empty seats indicating the scale of the purges under Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平).

A record 33 members were expelled at this week’s fifth plenum, a gathering of top officials that takes place roughly once a year.

Just 279 of the full and alternate members of the CCP’s Central Committee attended this week’s gathering, compared with the 376 originally named as members in 2022. That means that more than 25 percent of the original cohort were absent, many due to purges. It is the highest number of “empty chairs” at the plenum in modern Chinese history.

Chinese President Xi Jinping, third left, and German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, fourth right, attend a meeting at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing yesterday.

Photo: EPA

The confirmed expulsions included Zhang Youxia (張又俠), the former second-in-command to China’s leader in the military hierarchy, and Ma Xingrui (馬興瑞), the former party secretary for Xinjiang. Other absences were unexplained.

“More empty seats underscores the plenum’s focus on Xi’s vision of strict internal discipline,” Neil Thomas, a senior fellow at the Asia Society think tank, said in a post on X.

The theme for this week’s plenum was party governance. Since coming to power in 2012 Xi has focused on stamping out corruption in the party. However, in recent years the campaign has intensified, taking out officials in the highest ranks of the party and the military, raising questions about if the campaign is also a tool to remove political rivals or punish disloyalty.

Xi appears to have grown increasingly frustrated with what he sees as a lack of discipline in the ranks of the party that wields absolute authority over the state and society in China. Earlier this year he said that the party must uproot “sick trees” and that the fight against corruption was a “never-ending journey.”

A series of purges has gutted the seven-man Central Military Commission, the ruling body of China’s People’s Liberation Army. There are now just two members left: Xi and the military’s anti-graft czar, Zhang Shengmin (張升民).

Zhang was promoted to the politburo of the CCP this week, the highest ruling body in the party. 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 which happens every five years and is expected to next be held in the second half of next year. Xi is expected to secure a fourth term as leader of the party, making him the longest ruler of communist China since Mao Zedong (毛澤東).

The ranks of the Central Committee and the politburo would be refreshed at next year’s congress, but many analysts believe that recent purges have been so wide-ranging that there are few suitable candidates to be promoted.