The top leadership of the Chinese Communist Party is collectively hiding in Beidaihe. The official People’s Daily has revealed for the first time that six senior military leaders who were removed as members of the National People’s Congress in June were dismissed for “serious violation of discipline and law.” The internal power struggles within the Chinese Communist Party have raised concerns.
The latest official announcement from the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress in August disclosed that three generals, Xu Xueqiang, Li Fengbiao, and Guo Puxiao, as well as three lieutenant generals, Wang Kangping, Yin Hongxing, and Zhang Minghua, were all dismissed from their positions as members of the National People’s Congress for “serious violation of discipline and law.”
Previously on June 26, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress had announced that the national delegate qualifications of 14 officials, including Politburo member Ma Xingrui, three generals (Xu Xueqiang, Li Fengbiao, Guo Puxiao), and three lieutenant generals (Wang Kangping, Zhang Minghua, Yin Hongxing), had been terminated, without specifying reasons.
The “Report on the Qualifications of Individual Delegates” passed by the National People’s Congress on June 26 shows a total of 15 individuals had their delegate qualifications terminated. Apart from the aforementioned military officials, others include Ma Xingrui, former deputy secretary of the Chongqing Municipal Committee Hu Henghua, former secretary of the Hefei Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China Fei Gaoyun, former vice chairman of the Guangdong Provincial Political Consultative Conference Guo Yonghang, and former mayor of Zunyi City in Guizhou Province Huang Wei, all of whom were announced to be “allegedly involved in serious violations of discipline and law.”
In addition, former Deputy Secretary and Mayor of Taian Municipal Committee in Shandong Province Li Lanxiang was ordered to resign as a delegate to the National People’s Congress for his alleged serious violations of discipline and law. Hou Jianguo, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee and Director of the Shanjiao Mine of Panjiang Stock in Guizhou was dismissed from his position as a member of the National People’s Congress for suspected major responsibility accidents. Zhang Anjiang, former deputy mayor and former director of the Public Security Bureau of Chongqing, died on May 7 due to illness, resulting in the termination of his delegate qualifications.
One of the individuals whose dismissal reasons were not mentioned in the announcement was Li Yunze, but a recent bulletin from the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress in Sichuan Province on the third number revealed the decision to dismiss Li Yunze as a member of the National People’s Congress for “serious violation of discipline and law” passed on May 27.
It is worth noting that Vice Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party Central Military Commission Zhang Youxia and Commission Member Liu Zhenli have been officially announced to be under investigation for over half a year but have not yet been dismissed from their positions as members of the National People’s Congress.
Since August 1, the top leaders of the Chinese Communist Party have been collectively hiding. Official media reported that on August 3, Cai Qi, a member of the Politburo, and Secretary of the Central Secretariat of the Communist Party of China, visited experts on vacation in Beidaihe, which is seen by the public as the top leadership of the Chinese Communist Party vacationing in Beidaihe.
In past years during the Beidaihe vacations, meetings involving elderly politicians making political decisions were rumored. Several observers point out that currently, with the silence of the senior party members, it is unlikely that elderly politicians are involved in decision-making. However, regarding the case of Zhang Youxia, an influential princeling in the Communist Party, Xi Jinping may face significant pressure.
The Chinese Communist Party has announced the convening of the Fifth Plenary Session in October, with the theme of “Comprehensively Strictly Govern the Party,” which is seen as a signal for the start of a new round of purges.
Independent commentator Cai Shunkun recently told Dajiyuan that with the upcoming Fifth Plenary Session, the fact that there has been no conclusion for over half a year on Zhang Youxia’s case indicates a lack of unity within the party or opposition voices within the military.
On January 24 of this year, the day Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli were removed from their positions, the Chinese Communist Party’s military newspaper published an editorial condemning their actions as “seriously trampling and undermining the system of military commission chairmanship” and “harming the party’s governing foundation.”
Renowned political commentator based in the United States Tang Jingyuan believes that during the Beidaihe meeting this time, there may be more intense struggles between the Xi faction and the anti-Xi faction.