On April 27, 2026, the full meeting of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPC) of the Communist Party of China (CPC) was held with 11 members absent, as reported by China Central Television (CCTV). Notably, footage from the meeting did not show the presence of retired general committee members. Five retired generals, including He Ping, Zheng Weiping, An Zhaoqing, Wang Jianwu, and Yuan Yubai, had previously consecutively missed the establishment meetings of the military delegations at the Two Sessions.
The 22nd meeting of the 14th NPC Standing Committee was convened on April 27, 2026, in Beijing. According to Xinhua News Agency, the first plenary session was attended by 151 members of the Standing Committee.
Chaired by NPC Standing Committee Chairman Zhao Leji, the meeting was attended by all 14 vice chairpersons, including Li Hongzhong, Wang Dongming, Xiao Jie, Zheng Jianbang, Ding Zhongli, Hao Mingjin, Cai Dafeng, He Wei, Wu Weihua, Tie Ning, Peng Qinghua, Zhang Qingwei, Luosang Jiangcun, Xue Kelaiti Zakel, and Secretary-General Liu Qi.
Originally composed of 175 members, including one chairman, 14 vice chairpersons, one secretary-general, and 159 members, the current NPC Standing Committee consists of 162 members after the disqualification of 10 members and the resignation of 3 members as of the end of February 2026.
This indicates that 11 members of the NPC Standing Committee were absent from the first plenary session of the 22nd meeting held on April 27, 2026.
An online post on the self-media platform “China Personnel Observation” revealed that only four military NPC Standing Committee members attended the meeting on April 27, including retired general Fan Xiaojun and three retired major generals Luo Yuan, Fang Xiang, and Wu Jieming. This marked a further reduction compared to the previous meetings, where a total of six military NPC Standing Committee members were present.
In a report by CCTV’s “News Broadcast” on the NPC Standing Committee meeting on April 27, Luo Yuan, Fang Xiang, and Wu Jieming, wearing military uniforms with major general epaulets, were prominently featured. However, no footage of retired general Fan Xiaojun attending the meeting was included in the report.
Investigation by Da Ji Yuan found that among the remaining six senior generals within the NPC Standing Committee after the 21st meeting on February 26, 2026, there were three lieutenant generals, including Fan Xiaojun, Wang Jianwu, and Yuan Yubai. Notably, among these six generals, He Ping, Zheng Weiping, and An Zhaoqing were absent from previous meetings.
The absence of these five senior generals, He Ping, Zheng Weiping, An Zhaoqing, Wang Jianwu, and Yuan Yubai, from the 22nd meeting of the NPC Standing Committee continues a trend of non-attendance at important military and political gatherings.
Prior to this meeting, General Fan Xiaojun had consistently attended the previous meetings and events concerning the establishment of military delegations. However, whether he attended the 22nd meeting of the NPC Standing Committee remained unconfirmed.
Over the past three years, internal turmoil and purges within the CPC military have escalated, leading to the removal of 36 senior CPC military leaders from their positions as National People’s Congress deputies, including 16 generals, 14 major generals, and 6 brigadier generals.