During the National People’s Congress of the Communist Party of China currently being held in Beijing, more than 100 people were absent, making it the highest number of absences since Xi Jinping took office in 2012, except for the year 2022 during the epidemic. This has been seen by observers as a sign of the widening scope of the purge by Communist Party officials, leading to signs of turmoil within the National People’s Congress system.
On March 5th, the opening ceremony of the National People’s Congress was held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. Official figures show that there were 2,765 delegates present (with an expected attendance of 2,878), while 113 delegates (approximately 4% of the total) were absent.
This marks the highest number of absences during Xi Jinping’s tenure, excluding the year 2022 when 161 delegates were absent from the opening ceremony due to strict COVID-19 prevention measures. Reasons for delegates’ absence from the meeting vary, including illness.
In other years, the number of absences was generally in the tens, such as 25 absences in 2023 (with 2,952 delegates present out of an expected 2,977), 56 absences in 2024 (with 2,900 delegates present out of an expected 2,956), and 49 absences in 2025 (with 2,880 delegates present out of an expected 2,929).
According to Bloomberg, this highlights the internal turmoil within the Communist Party’s legislative body as the range of officials being “purged” continues to expand.
Many delegates to the National People’s Congress have been purged in Xi Jinping’s escalating anti-corruption campaign, with some resigning and others passing away.
The original number of 2,977 delegates to the 14th National People’s Congress has now decreased to 2,878, a reduction of 99 individuals, possibly making it the congress with the largest decrease in membership since the Cultural Revolution. These reduced individuals have either passed away or had their delegate status officially terminated, and were not part of the expected attendance for this session.
The military representatives have been particularly affected by the reduction. According to an announcement by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress of the Communist Party of China on February 26th, the qualifications of 19 National People’s Congress delegates were terminated, including 9 military representatives, 5 of whom are generals. In the past two years, about 36 National People’s Congress delegates with military backgrounds have been dismissed, according to incomplete statistics.