The Communist Party of China (CPC) is currently holding a closed-door Fourth Plenary Session, which has seen the dismissal of 9 senior military officials, with 8 of them being members of the Central Committee. Analysis suggests that at least over 20 members of the Central Committee will be publicly addressed or confirmed during the Fourth Plenary Session, all of whom were promoted under the personal guidance of Xi Jinping.
Prior to the Fourth Plenary Session, 9 senior military officials, including members of the Central Political Bureau and Vice Chairmen of the Military Commission like He Weidong, were expelled from the Party and the military.
Among the 9 dismissed individuals, 8 are members of the Central Committee, namely He Weidong, Miao Hua, He Hongjun, Wang Xiubin, Lin Xiangyang, Qin Shutong, Yuan Huazhi, and Wang Chunning. Former Rocket Force Commander Wang Houbin is not a member of the Central Committee.
The 8 central committee members, including He Weidong, who were dismissed from the Party, are expected to be confirmed during the Fourth Plenary Session.
Previously, CPC Central Committee member and Minister of Logistics Support of the Central Military Commission Zhang Lin was removed from the position of National People’s Congress deputy. Former Minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs Tang Renjian and former Governor of Shanxi Province Jin Xiangjun have been expelled from the Party and dismissed from public office. Yu Jianhua, the former head of the General Administration of Customs who died under abnormal circumstances in December last year, was also a member of the Central Committee.
The 20th Central Committee of the CPC originally had 205 members and 171 alternate members. By the Third Plenary Session in 2024, Li Shangfu and Li Yuchao were expelled from the Party, and Qin Gang resigned, with three replacements. As of now, there are 203 members of the Central Committee and 165 alternate members.
According to Hong Kong media outlet “Sing Tao Daily,” at least 12 members of the Central Committee are expected to be filled during the Fourth Plenary Session.
Additionally, prior to the Fourth Plenary Session, Liu Jianchao, former Minister of the United Front Work Department, Jin Zhuanglong, former Minister of Industry and Information Technology, and Lei Fanpei, former Deputy Director of the Central Military-Civil Fusion Office, have been removed from their positions. Three central committee members who were recently officially revealed to have fallen, including former Chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission Yi Huiman, former chairman of Guangxi, Lan Tianli, and former chairman of Inner Mongolia, Wang Lixia, but they have not yet been publicly announced for disciplinary action, or are not on the list for this meeting.
Hong Kong media reported on October 21 that during the Third Plenary Session last year, 3 alternate Central Committee members were promoted to full Central Committee members, including Ding Xiangqun (Chairman of China Pacific Insurance Group), Yu Lijun (Deputy Secretary of the Sichuan Provincial Party Committee), and Yu Jihong (President of Beijing Normal University). These three individuals ranked 1st, 3rd, and 4th on the alternate member list, and the military figure Ding Xingnong, who ranked 2nd, was “skipped,” with rumors suggesting he may be involved in a Rocket Force corruption case.
If at the Fourth Plenary Session, 12 Central Committee members are promoted according to the ranking of alternate members, they would include: Yu Huiwen, Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, Ma Hancheng, Deputy Secretary of the Guizhou Provincial Party Committee, Wang Jian, Deputy Governor of Liaoning Province, Wang Xi, Director of the United Front Work Department of Guangdong Provincial Committee, Wang Liyan, Deputy Commander of the Rocket Force, Wang Yonghong, Director of the National Institution Affairs Administration, Wang Kangping, Commander of the Joint Logistics Support Forces of the Military Commission, Wang Tingkai, Secretary of the Tianjin Municipal Discipline Inspection Commission, Wang Xinwei, Governor of Liaoning Province, Wang Jiayi, Deputy Minister of Education, Wei Tao, Chairman of the Guangxi Autonomous Region Government, and Fang Yongxiang, Director of the General Office of the Central Military Commission.
The report indicates that due to the situation of Ding Xingnong being “skipped,” there may also be changes in the promotion of alternate members mentioned above. For instance, Lieutenant General Fang Yongxiang has been in hiding for several months, and Fang Hongwei, Secretary of the Xi’an Municipal Committee, who ranks lower, may have a chance to be appointed as a Central Committee member.
In March of this year, rumors emerged that Fang Yongxiang had been dismissed from his position and reassigned as Deputy Political Commissar of the National Defense University, with some reports suggesting he was under investigation. Fang Yongxiang did not accompany Xi Jinping during his meetings with military representatives in Tibet in August and Xinjiang in September.
The members of the Central Committee and alternate members selected at the 20th National Congress of the CPC, as previously reported by Xinhua News Agency, have been “personally screened” by Xi Jinping, considered to be a part of the broader “Xi family army.”
According to commentator Li Linyi, it is estimated that at least over 20 members of the “Xi family army” will be publicly addressed and confirmed during the Fourth Plenary Session. This includes the 8 Central Committee members who have been expelled from the Party – He Weidong, Miao Hua, He Hongjun, Wang Xiubin, Lin Xiangyang, Qin Shutong, Yuan Huazhi, and Wang Chunning, as well as Zhang Lin, Minister of Logistics Support of the Central Military Commission, Tang Renjian, former Minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, and Jin Xiangjun, former Governor of Shanxi Province.
Another 8 Central Committee members may also appear on the list for processing during the Fourth Plenary Session, including the long-missing Western Theater Commander, Wang Haijiang, and Wang Renhua, Secretary of the Political and Legal Committee of the Central Military Commission, Hu Zhongming, Navy Commander who was rumored to be dismissed in June, Wang Kai, Commander of the Tibetan Military Region absent during Xi Jinping’s meetings with military representatives, and Wang Qiming, absent during this year’s “81” reception, Li Qiaoming, Commander of the Information Support Force, and both Wang Qiang and Xu Deqing, Commander and Political Commissar of the Central Theater Command respectively.
During the recent National Day military parade, the position of Chief Commander, which is traditionally held by the Commander of the Central Theater Command, was temporarily filled by Lieutenant General Han Shengyan, Commander of the Air Force of the Central Theater Command.
Among the alternate members of the Central Committee, in addition to Son Jinming, Chief of Staff of the Rocket Force, who was expelled during the Third Plenary Session, 5 other officially announced alternates under investigation include: Zhu Zhisong, Standing Committee Member of the Shanghai Municipal Party Committee, Li Shisong, Standing Committee Member of the Yunnan Provincial Party Committee, Yang Fasen, Standing Committee Member of the Qinghai Provincial Party Committee, Fei Dongbin, Director of the National Railway Administration, and Wu Shenghua, former Standing Committee Member of the Guizhou Provincial Party Committee and Secretary of the Bijie Municipal Committee.
Of these individuals, Zhu Zhisong, Yang Fasen, and Li Shisong have been “dismissed,” and are expected to appear on the list for processing during the Fourth Plenary Session.
Central Committee alternate members who have been dismissed from their positions with unknown whereabouts include Yuan Jie, Chairman of China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation, and Wen Gang, Chairman of China Shipbuilding Group. Yuan Jie was dismissed on April 12, 2024, but was not expelled from the Party during last year’s Third Plenary Session.
Commentator Li Linyi told Epoch Times that due to the opaque operations of the CPC, the final number of high-ranking officials to be publicly exposed during the Fourth Plenary Session is still only an estimate. Some high-ranking officials who are not Central Committee members, alternate members, National People’s Congress deputies, or CPPCC members may permanently disappear without being publicized due to not being subject to procedures.