On September 21st, 2024, Ren Jianxin, a former high-ranking official of the Chinese Communist Party and the former Secretary of the Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission of the CPC, passed away in Beijing at the age of 99.
According to the official Chinese state media Xinhua News Agency, Ren Jianxin died at 1:33 PM on September 21st due to illness.
It was disclosed by the China Law Innovation Network that Ren Jianxin had served as the secretary to Dong Biwu and was also the president of the Dong Biwu Legal Thought Research Association of the Chinese Communist Party Law Society. Dong Biwu was one of the main members of the CPC in its early days, having served as Vice Chairman, Acting Chairman of the CPC, as well as a member of the Politburo Standing Committee and the Central Committee.
Public records show that Ren Jianxin joined the Communist Party of China in June 1948 and had a long career within the political and legal system. In 1988, he became the President and Party Secretary of the Supreme People’s Court, and in 1992, he succeeded Qiao Shi as the Secretary of the Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission. From March 1998 to March 2003, he served as the Vice Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference.
In an effort to curb the excessive power of the Political and Legal Affairs Commission, the former General Secretary of the CPC, Zhao Ziyang, proposed the separation of party and government in the report of the 13th National Congress, and the motion to dissolve the Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission was approved during a meeting of the Politburo Standing Committee. However, following the events of June Fourth, under the proposal of Jiang Zemin, the Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission was reestablished in March 1990, with Ren Jianxin appointed as its Secretary. Controversies over the excessive powers of the Secretary of the Political and Legal Affairs Commission emerged at that time. After Luo Gan entered the Politburo Standing Committee in 1993, he also took on the role of Secretary of the Political and Legal Affairs Commission. During his ten-year tenure, the powers and authority of the Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission expanded significantly.
Additionally, statistics show that from late August to mid-September 2024, within a span of about a month, at least 33 senior officials have passed away in mainland China, all of whom were members of the Communist Party. Among the deceased officials are three Lieutenant Generals, two provincial and ministerial-level officials, and others.
This recent wave of deaths among senior officials in the Chinese Communist Party raises questions and concerns about the health and stability of the political leadership in the country.