Following the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), personnel changes within the CCP continue to cause ripples. On October 28th, the 14th National People’s Congress Standing Committee meeting in Beijing concluded with the announcement of several personnel appointments and dismissals, including the removal of the National People’s Congress (NPC) delegate qualifications of former Hunan Provincial Party Secretary Xu Dazhe and Sun Bin, the Audit Director of the Central Military Commission.
The CCP’s official media Xinhua reported that on the afternoon of the 28th, the 18th meeting of the 14th National People’s Congress Standing Committee came to an end, appointing Zhang Shengmin as the Vice Chairman of the CCP National Military Commission, while the former Vice Chairman He Weidong was dismissed.
During the meeting of the NPC Standing Committee, a number of personnel appointment and dismissal cases were approved.
Hao Peng was appointed as the Deputy Director of the NPC Financial and Economic Committee, and Sun Shaocheng as the Deputy Director of the NPC Social Development Committee. Hao Peng, the former Liaoning Provincial Party Secretary, and Sun Shaocheng, the former Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Party Secretary, have now stepped back from the forefront.
Xu Hui was removed from the position of Deputy Director of the NPC Constitution and Law Committee, Zhang Xuan from the position of Deputy Director of the NPC Oversight and Judicial Committee, Li Jinghai from the position of Deputy Director of the NPC Education, Science, Culture, and Health Committee, Hao Ping from the position of Deputy Director of the NPC Foreign Affairs Committee, and Jing Hanchao from the position of Deputy Director of the NPC Social Development Committee. Xia Guang was removed from the position of Deputy Director of the NPC Standing Committee Budget Committee, while Zhai Wei was appointed as the Deputy Director of the NPC Standing Committee Budget Committee.
Wang Zhongming was appointed as the Vice President of the Supreme Court, a member of the Trial Committee, and a judge, while He Xiaorong was dismissed from the position of Vice President of the Supreme Court, a member of the Trial Committee, and Chief Justice of the Fourth Circuit Court.
Of note, Zhang Jin from the military was removed from the position of Director of the CCP Military Procuratorate and replaced by Sun Xiujun. Navy Political Commissar Yuan Huazhi and Sun Bin, the Audit Director of the Central Military Commission, were dismissed as delegates.
Yuan Huazhi was previously listed in the CCP’s announcement of the expulsion of party and military personnel, having been a member of the 20th Central Committee. Sun Bin, born in 1968, served as the Audit Director of the Central Military Commission and was a member of the 20th Central Discipline Inspection Commission. His dismissal as an NPC delegate indicates a significant issue.
According to statistics, among the 42 members of the 20th Central Committee from the military, 27 were absent from the Fourth Plenary Session, with a high absentee rate of 63%. Among these, 22 were senior generals, and in addition to the announced 8 individuals, 14 senior generals have disappeared. Wang Renhua, a member of the Central Political and Legal Commission and Secretary of the Central Military Commission Political and Legal Commission, did not attend, suggesting a potential issue.
It is believed that the CCP’s military purge is far from over. Numerous NPC delegate qualifications have been terminated, including former Hunan Provincial Party Secretary Xu Dazhe, who belonged to the “Military Industry Group.”
Xu Dazhe, a member of the NPC Standing Committee, was absent from the meeting at the end of last year. He has previously held positions such as General Manager of China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation and Chairman of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, as well as Vice Minister of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and Director of the National Defense Science and Technology Industry Bureau. In 2016, he was transferred to Hunan as the Governor and Provincial Party Secretary.
Several high-ranking officials from the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation and China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, where Xu Dazhe worked, have been investigated.
As announced, Hao Ping was removed from the position of Deputy Director of the NPC Foreign Affairs Committee. He was the former President of Peking University.
Former President of Tsinghua University Wang Xiqin resigned as an NPC delegate. Wang Xiqin had served as the President of Tsinghua University, was demoted to Deputy Director of the National Natural Science Foundation Committee in December 2023, and was recently dismissed from that position.
Additionally, the Hainan Provincial People’s Congress Standing Committee removed He Qiongmei from her delegate position, and the Guizhou Provincial People’s Congress Standing Committee removed Yang Sanke from his delegate position. The Liaoning Provincial People’s Congress Standing Committee accepted the resignation of Wang Xinyu from his delegate position.
He Qiongmei formerly served as the Director of the Hainan Provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs and Director of the Provincial Rural Revitalization Bureau before being investigated in August this year. Yang Sanke, who was previously the Party Secretary and Director of the Guizhou Provincial Ecological Environment Department, was investigated in June this year. Wang Xinyu, who previously served as the Deputy Secretary and Mayor of Jinzhou City, Liaoning Province, has not had any official announcement of being investigated.