On September 21, 2026, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) held a meeting of the Politburo to once again discuss the so-called “comprehensive and strict governance of the party,” and announced the specific dates for the Fifth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the CCP. It is expected that the number of central committee members expelled from the party at the Fifth Plenary Session will reach an unprecedented scale.
The earlier meeting of the CCP Politburo at the end of July had already announced that the Fifth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee would be held in October with the theme of “strict party governance.” The recent Politburo meeting in September declared that the Fifth Plenum would take place from October 26th to 29th in Beijing.
Senior political commentator based in the United States, Chen Pokong, told Epoch Times that the so-called “strict party governance” is likely aimed at individuals such as Zhang Yuxia and Liu Zhen, referring to recent corruption cases. Since January of this year, the Central Military Commission has introduced regulations on party organization elections within the military and conducted training for senior officials, all linked to the downfall of Zhang Yuxia. Chen stated that these measures essentially emphasize how senior military leaders should behave, indirectly implicating Zhang Yuxia, Liu Zhen, and others for their wrongdoings. This indicates an ongoing power struggle within the party.
Zhang Yuxia and Liu Zhen, who were removed from their positions at the end of August as members of the National Central Military Commission, and subsequently dismissed from their roles as National People’s Congress deputies, have now been removed from the list of CCP Central Military Commission members on various official websites.
Xi Jinping’s anti-corruption campaign during his first and second terms following the 18th National Congress of the CCP primarily targeted members associated with the Jiang faction and various interest groups. However, during his third term, individuals believed to have been handpicked by Xi himself began falling from grace, including many key figures from within Xi’s own faction, particularly in the military.
Based on incomplete statistics from the Epoch Times in April of this year, nearly 70 members of the Central Committee generated from the 20th Congress of the CCP, comprising both members and alternate members, have been purged, accounting for about 18% of the total members. This marks the highest number and proportion of members falling from power in a single term of the Central Committee since the end of the Cultural Revolution in 1976.
Among the members of the Politburo, Vice Chairman of the Military Commission, He Weidong, Zhang Yuxia, and former Xinjiang Party Secretary Ma Xingrui have all recently been removed from their positions. This signifies the most significant upheaval in the personnel of the Politburo since the end of the Cultural Revolution.
According to previous reports by the Epoch Times, over the past year, 22 members of the Central Committee have been officially removed from their positions or dismissed as National People’s Congress deputies, with an additional 23 individuals labeled as “missing.” It is expected that around 40 individuals, mostly from the military, may be officially expelled during the Fifth Plenary Session, although the actual number will be subject to confirmation due to the CCP’s recent trend of handling such matters internally.
Chen Pokong previously stated to the Epoch Times that the internal strife within the CCP has created an unprecedented crisis comparable to the era following Mao Zedong. Xi Jinping’s reversal of historical progress has allowed the ghosts of the past to haunt the stage of a new era, leading to various anomalies in China. With Xi Jinping’s leadership, the CCP has entered a late-stage communist period, now transitioning into the late phase of the Xi era.
Overall, the internal power struggle within the CCP and the ongoing anti-corruption campaign spearheaded by Xi Jinping continue to shape the political landscape in China, underscoring the complexities and challenges facing the ruling party.