The National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) opened on the afternoon of March 4, 2026; Three current vice-ministerial officials of the Communist Party of China, Political Bureau member Ma Xingrui, Vice Chairman of the CPPCC Chen Wu, and Vice Chairman of the National People’s Congress Hao Mingjin were absent from the opening ceremony. Recently, all three have been consecutively absent from high-level Communist Party meetings.
Ma Xingrui was unexpectedly removed from his position as Secretary of the Xinjiang Party Committee in July 2025, and rumors of his downfall have been circulating. News of an investigation of Hao Mingjin surfaced at the end of October 2025. Chen Wu’s former deputy, Chairman of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Government Lan Tianli, fell from grace in May 2025.
According to Xinhua News Agency, on the afternoon of March 4, 2026, the 4th session of the 14th National Committee of the CPPCC opened in Beijing; 2125 members were expected to attend, and 2078 actually showed up.
CPPCC Chairman Wang Huning, Vice Chairmen of the CPPCC Shi Taifeng, Hu Chunhua, Shen Yueyue, Wang Yong, Zhou Qiang, Pabalha Geleangjie, He Houkui, Leung Chun-ying, Batel, Su Hui, Shao Hong, Gao Yunlong, Mu Hong, Xian Hui, Wang Dongfeng, Jiang Xinzhi, Jiang Zuojun, He Baoxiang, Wang Guangqian, Qin Boyong, Zhu Yongxin, and Yang Zhen were seated in the front row of the podium.
Among the 23 Vice Chairmen of the CPPCC, only Chen Wu was absent from the opening session.
Three days ago, on March 1, 2026, Chen Wu was absent from the 15th plenary session of the 14th National Committee of the CPPCC.
Three weeks ago, Chen Wu was also absent from the 46th Chairman’s meeting of the CPPCC held on February 6, 2026.
Chen Wu, a Zhuang ethnic minority, was born in Chongzuo City, Guangxi, in November 1954, and had a long career in the Guangxi officialdom. In March 2013, he was appointed as the Deputy Secretary of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Party Committee and the Chairman of the Autonomous Region Government; he retired in October 2020, and in November 2020, he was appointed as the Vice Chairman of the National People’s Congress. In March 2023, he was appointed as the Vice Chairman of the CPPCC, rising to vice-ministerial level.
According to the CPPCC official website, in 2025, Chen Wu missed consecutive meetings – the 35th and 36th Chairman’s meetings held on April 29 and May 28 respectively.
Of note is that during this time, Lan Tianli, the former deputy of Chen Wu and the Chairman of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Government, fell from power. Lan Tianli was officially removed from office on May 16, 2025.
During Chen Wu’s seven-year tenure as the Chairman of the Guangxi Autonomous Region Government from April 2013 to October 2020, Lan Tianli served as his deputy for almost five years.
Following Lan Tianli’s downfall, the Guangxi officialdom underwent continuous purges. In recent times, several officials from Guangxi have been investigated, including Pan Yuwei, former director of the People’s Congress Standing Committee in Hechi, Mo Zhenzu, former director of the People’s Congress Standing Committee in Hechi, and Wang Yaolei, member of the Party Committee and Deputy Director of the People’s Congress Standing Committee in Chongzuo, Chen Wu’s hometown.
According to Xinhua News Agency, at the opening session of the CPPCC on the afternoon of March 4, 2026, current high-ranking officials of the Communist Party of China, Political Bureau Standing Committee members Xi Jinping, Li Qiang, Zhao Leji, Cai Qi, Ding Xuexiang, Li Xi, as well as Vice President Han Zheng were seated on the podium.
Also seated on the podium were current vice-ministerial officials, including 13 Political Bureau members Wang Yi, Yin Li, Liu Guozhong, Li Ganjie, Li Shulei, Li Hongzhong, He Lifeng, Zhang Guoqing, Chen Wenqing, Chen Jineng, Chen Min’er, Yuan Jiagun, Huang Kunming.
A year ago, on March 4, 2025, the opening session of the CPPCC was attended by 16 Political Bureau Standing Committee members; in addition to the aforementioned 13 members, the other three were Ma Xingrui, Zhang Yuxia, and He Weidong.
Political Bureau Standing Committee member and Vice Chairman of the Military Commission He Weidong was reported to be under investigation after the conclusion of the Two Sessions in March 2025 and remained in seclusion until he was officially removed from office on the eve of the Fourth Plenary Session in October 2025.
Political Bureau Standing Committee member and Vice Chairman of the Military Commission Zhang Yuxia was officially removed from office on January 24, 2026.
Since Ma Xingrui’s outster from his position in July 2025, rumors of his downfall have persisted. For the past four months, he has been consistently absent from high-level Communist Party meetings.
Following Ma Xingrui’s removal, the officialdom of Xinjiang, the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, and the Guangdong officialdom where he previously held office have been continuously purged, with his former associates being successively removed from power.
According to Xinhua News Agency, also present among the current high-ranking officials seated on the podium at the opening session of the CPPCC on the afternoon of March 4, 2026 were Vice Chairmen of the National People’s Congress Wang Dongming, Xiao Jie, Zheng Jianbang, Ding Zhongli, Cai Dafeng, He Wei, Wu Weihua, Tie Ning, Peng Qinghua, Zhang Qingwei, Losang Jamcan, Xuekelaiti Zakel.
Among the 14 Vice Chairmen of the National People’s Congress, only Hao Mingjin, Chairman of the Democratic National Construction Association, was absent.
A week ago, on February 25, 2026, the first plenary session of the 21st session of the Standing Committee of the 14th National People’s Congress was held, with 13 members of the Standing Committee mysteriously absent, including Vice Chairman of the National People’s Congress Hao Mingjin.
The official website of the National People’s Congress shows that since October 2025, Hao Mingjin has continuously been absent from the meetings of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress and the Chairmen’s meetings.
On October 30, 2025, Jiang Wang, a commentator known for leaking news about high-level developments in the Communist Party, posted on X platform stating, “Hao Mingjin, Chairman of the Democratic National Construction Association, and Executive Vice Chairman Qin Boyong are under investigation. Vice Chairman Shen Jinqiang is cooperating with the investigation. Big case!”
According to publicly available information, Hao Mingjin, born in December 1956 in Jiaxiang, Shandong, served as Deputy Dean of the Law School of Shandong University, Deputy Dean of the Higher People’s Court of Shandong Province, and Chairman of the Shandong Provincial Committee of the Democratic National Construction Association. From December 2007 to January 2017, he served as Deputy Minister of the Communist Party’s Supervisory Department.
After the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party, Hao Mingjin was appointed as Vice Chairman of the Democratic National Construction Association in December 2012, Executive Vice Chairman in December 2016, and Chairman in December 2017. In 2018, he was appointed as Vice Chairman of the 13th National People’s Congress Standing Committee, rising to vice-ministerial level. In 2023, he was re-elected as Vice Chairman of the 14th National People’s Congress Standing Committee.