The National People’s Congress Standing Committee of the Communist Party of China announced today (12th) the removal of a group of delegates, including several high-ranking officials and military leaders. Among them, rumors have long circulated about the investigation of Wang Chunning, the Commander of the People’s Armed Police, and three other generals have now been confirmed to have “run into trouble.” Analysis indicates that the purge within the Chinese Communist Party’s military is expanding, and the power struggle within the party is worth watching during the upcoming Fourth Plenary Session.
According to the announcement by the National People’s Congress Standing Committee of the Communist Party of China, the removed delegates include former Inner Mongolia Governor Wang Lixia who fell from grace on August 22, Wang Bin, Director of the Jiangsu Provincial Department for Human Resources who was implicated on May 9 of this year, Wang Qirong, Vice Secretary of the Party Committee and Mayor of Su Zhou City, Anhui Province who was implicated on March 20 of this year, Ni Qiang, member of the Hainan Provincial Committee and Secretary-General who was implicated on June 25, and Niu Chao, Principal of a senior high school in Shangqiu City, Henan Province.
Furthermore, it is reported that the Central Military Commission Logistics Support Department’s army representative assembly decided to remove Zhang Lin and Gao Daguang from the national people’s congress delegate positions. The army’s representative assembly decided to remove Wang Zhibin’s national people’s congress delegate position. The Armed Police Force’s representative assembly decided to remove Wang Chunning’s national people’s congress delegate position. Their qualifications as National People’s Congress delegates have been terminated.
The latest high-ranking military official to be removed from the National People’s Congress delegate position is General Wang Chunning of the Chinese Communist Party’s People’s Armed Police, who has been “missing” since the end of last year with rumors circulating about his investigation. At the Chinese Communist Party’s 15th National Heroic Model Commendation Conference in July, the former Deputy Commander of the People’s Armed Police, Cao Junzhang, appeared officially as the acting Commander, indirectly confirming Wang Chunning’s predicament.
At the age of 62, Wang Chunning previously served as the Commander of the 12th Group Army and Commander of the Beijing Garrison. In April 2020, he was transferred to the position of Chief of Staff of the People’s Armed Police Force. In December of the same year, he was promoted to the Commander of the People’s Armed Police Force with the rank of General.
Other officials dismissed alongside Wang Chunning include Zhang Lin, a Major General who served as Minister of the Central Military Commission’s Logistics Support Department; Gao Daguang, also a Major General who was the Political Commissar of the Joint Logistics Support Department of the Central Military Commission; and Wang Zhibin, a Major General who was the Secretary of the Rocket Force Disciplinary Committee.
Zhang Lin previously served as the Commander of the Qingdao Comprehensive Support Base of the Navy and Deputy Chief of Staff of the Joint Logistics Support Department of the Central Military Commission. He was promoted to the position of Chief of Staff of the Military Commission’s Joint Logistics Support Department in 2019. In 2020, he was transferred to the position of Minister of Logistics in the People’s Armed Police Force. In March 2021, he took up the position of Director of the Institutional Affairs Management Bureau of the Central Military Commission. In January 2022, he was promoted to Minister of Logistics Support in the Central Military Commission, concurrently promoted to the rank of Major General at the same time.
Gao Daguang served in the Shenyang Military Region early in his career and was the Political Commissar of a Red Army Division of the 39th Group Army, then the Deputy Political Commissar of the 41st Group Army in September 2016. In October 2017, he became the Deputy Political Commissar of the newly established 77th Group Army. He later served as the Director of the Elderly Cadres Bureau of the Political Work Department of the Central Military Commission. By July 2021, he had become the Political Commissar of the Institutional Affairs Management Bureau of the Central Military Commission. By no later than September 2024, he was serving as the Political Commissar of the Joint Logistics Support Force. He was promoted to the rank of Major General on July 31, 2017.
Wang Zhibin had a long military career in the former Nanjing Military Region, serving as the Commander of the Xuan Cheng Military Sub-region of the Anhui Military Region and the Political Commissar of the 13th Coastal Defense Division of the Fujian Military Region. In 2015, he was appointed Director of the Political Department of the 1st Group Army. In March 2017, he became Director of the Political Work Department of the 73rd Group Army. In April 2018, he was promoted to Political Commissar of the 81st Group Army. In March 2022, he rose to the position of Political Commissar of the Western Theater Command of the Army. In December 2023, he was transferred to the position of Secretary of the Rocket Force Disciplinary Committee. He was promoted to Major General in July 2016 and to Major General in March 2022.
Commenting on the situation, current affairs commentator Li Lin told Epoch Times that the simultaneous removal of four high-ranking military officials from their National People’s Congress delegate positions indicates that, according to the usual practice within the Chinese Communist Party, they are all under investigation. Besides confirming the rumors of Wang Chunning’s predicament, the news about the three other generals in trouble shows that the purge within the military is expanding. Now, both the Minister of Logistics of the Central Military Commission and the Political Commissar of the Joint Logistics Support Force are in trouble, even the Secretary of the Rocket Force’s Disciplinary Committee is under investigation, indicating that the next officials to fall could be unexpected.
Li Lin speculated that these removals might be connected to the cases of Miao Hua and He Weidong, but their ascensions were part of the personnel reshuffle following Xi Jinping’s military reforms. The power struggles within the Chinese Communist Party’s military are complex, and the upcoming Fourth Plenary Session of the Party is something to watch closely.