The 20th Fifth Plenary Session of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is set to be held in Beijing from October 26 to 29, where the number of Central Committee members who will be expelled from the party will be confirmed. This may break records of the CCP’s decades-long history and has become a recent focal point of observation. Analysis indicates that there are currently 32 individuals on the list to be processed, but not all of them may be announced for expulsion during the Fifth Plenum. There are also 25 missing persons, some of whom may appear on the list of those to be dealt with during the Fifth Plenum. Xi Jinping’s massive purge is operating in a mode of “self-destruction,” showing a relentless momentum to eliminate anyone who threatens the party’s rule.
Independent commentator Du Zheng penned an article on October 21 in Taiwan’s media outlet “Shang Bao,” titled “Beijing’s Fifth Plenum: ‘Tigers Gathering.'” He claimed that the list he provided may be the most comprehensive list of pending members of the 20th Central Committee available online.
The article listed out confirmed Central Committee members to be handled, including individuals like former Chairman of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Government Lan Tianli, former Chairman of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Government Wang Lixia, and former Chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission Yi Huiman, who were expelled from the party after the Fourth Plenary Session last year and now need the Fifth Plenum to officially confirm their expulsion.
In 2026, 20 Central Committee members have fallen from grace, including notable figures like former Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Party Secretary Sun Shaocheng, former Zhejiang Provincial Party Secretary Yi Lianhong, former Vice Chairman of the Military Commission Zhang Youxia, and others from various leadership positions. Some have already been expelled from the party, with others awaiting confirmation at the Fifth Plenum.
Among the candidates for Central Committee members, individuals like former Xi’an Municipal Party Secretary Fang Hongwei, former Director of the National Railway Administration Fei Dongbin, and former Guizhou Provincial Party Standing Committee member Wu Shenghua have been expelled from the party and require confirmation during the Fifth Plenum. Meanwhile, there are still 6 individuals who have been removed from positions but have not yet been expelled from the party, including former President of Tianjin University Jin Donghan, former Anhui Hefei Municipal Party Secretary Fei Gaoyun, and others.
In addition to the officially confirmed fallen members of the Central Committee, at least 25 individuals are currently in a “missing” state. Some of these missing persons include former Central Liaison Department Minister Liu Jianchao, former Minister of Industry and Information Technology Jin Zhuanglong, and others who have vanished after being removed from their positions.
Du Zheng notes that not all of the missing individuals are guaranteed to be publicly expelled from the party. The CCP operates like a gang-style political party, employing various methods and categories to handle party members and cadres. Some individuals may receive lenient treatment, merely facing demotion and retirement, while others could potentially be secretly dealt with.
The article highlights that the current roster of the 20th Central Committee, carefully scrutinized by Xi Jinping himself, is already a group of gathered “tigers.” Over the past three years, a significant number of retired generals, as well as members of the previous Central Committee, have fallen from grace or gone missing. Xi Jinping’s actions at the Fifth Plenum involve a massive purification of the entire party, targeting not only the current Central Committee members but also conducting retroactive investigations.
Du Zheng suggests that the Communist Party is characterized by corruption among officials, and political loyalty is not something easily achieved. Therefore, the CCP relies on brutal infighting to maintain its rule. Xi Jinping emphasizes the CCP’s need for “self-revolution,” which in reality is a “self-destructive” mode. In an official media report, Xi Jinping quoted a line from the novel “Dream of the Red Chamber” by saying, “One must start by destroying oneself at home before experiencing a complete downfall.” Du Zheng believes that this is indeed a ruthless declaration of never giving up until the party is saved from collapse.