The 20th Fifth Plenary Session of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is set to convene in October, and it is expected that over 20 current members of the Central Committee, including two Politburo members Zhang Youxia and Ma Xingrui, who have been ousted, will be formally expelled during the meeting. Additionally, there is still uncertainty regarding how many of the over 20 “missing” members of the Central Committee will also face expulsion. Analysts believe that the number of Central Committee members expelled during the Fifth Plenum could reach as high as around 40, setting an unprecedented record.
Over the past year, according to incomplete statistics from Epoch Times, 22 members of the CCP Central Committee and alternate members have been publicly announced to have fallen from grace or removed from their positions as National People’s Congress representatives.
Within the military Central Committee members, former Minister of Logistics and Security of the Central Military Commission Zhang Lin was removed from the National People’s Congress in September last year and could not be dealt with during the Fourth Plenum. In December last year, former Minister of Training and Administration of the Central Military Commission Wang Peng, former Secretary of the Political and Legal Affairs Commission of the Central Military Commission Wang Renhua, and former Political Commissar of the Armed Police Force Zhang Hongbing were removed from the National People’s Congress.
Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission Zhang Youxia and Central Military Commission member and Chief of Staff of the Joint Staff Department Liu Zhenli were both officially ousted in January. In February, former Political Commissar of the Information Support Force Li Wei and former Commander of the Army Li Qiaoming were removed from the National People’s Congress. In June, former Minister of Equipment Development in the central military commissions Xu Xueqiang, former Political Commissar of the Western Theater Command Li Fengbiao, and former Political Commissar of the Air Force Guo Puxiao were also removed from the National People’s Congress.
In terms of the party and government systems, former Chairman of the Guangxi Government Lan Tianli, former Chairman of the Inner Mongolia Government Wang Lixia, and former Chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission Yi Huiman, these three Central Committee members, were ousted before the Fourth Plenum last year. They had their party membership revoked during the Fourth Plenum and this will be confirmed during the Fifth Plenum.
In the current year, former Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Party Secretary Sun Shaocheng, former Zhejiang Party Secretary Yi Lianhong, former Minister of Emergency Management Wang Xiangxi, former Mayor of Chongqing Hu Henghua, and former Politburo member Ma Xingrui have fallen from grace.
Among the Central Committee alternate members, former Xi’an Party Secretary Fang Hongwei, who fell from grace after the Fourth Plenum, has had his party membership revoked and will be confirmed during the Fifth Plenum. Former President of Tianjin University Jin Donghan was removed from his position as a Tianjin Municipal People’s Congress representative in January 2026.
On June 26, Wang Kangping, a retired lieutenant general in the military and a Central Committee alternate member, was also removed from the National People’s Congress.
In addition to the aforementioned publicly dealt with Central Committee members, there are former leaders such as Liu Jianchao, former Minister of the United Front Work Department, Jin Zhuanglong, former Minister of Industry and Information Technology, and Lei Fanpei, former Executive Deputy Director of the Central Military-Civilian Integration Office, who were suddenly relieved from their positions, and their current status remains unclear.
According to a compilation by Epoch Times, the “missing” senior military Central Committee members include at least 12 senior officials such as former Eastern Theater Commander Liu Qingsong, former Southern Theater Commander Wu Yanan, former Southern Theater Political Commissar Wang Wenquan, former Western Theater Commander Wang Haijiang, former Northern Theater Commander Huang Ming, former Central Theater Political Commissar Xu Deqing, former Navy Commander Hu Zhongming, former Rocket Force Political Commissar Xu Xisheng, Deputy Chief of the Staff Department of the Central Military Commission Xu Qiling, former Central Theater Commander Wang Qiang, former Air Force Commander Chang Dingqiu, and former President of the Academy of Military Science The Director Yang Xuejun…(to be continued)