The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) held its Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee in Beijing today (October 20th), officially promoting the main agenda as planning the “15th Five-Year Plan” for future economic development over the next 5 years, but it’s the top leadership reshuffle and major overhaul that has garnered more attention from the public.
Nine senior generals, including CCP Central Committee Political Bureau Member and Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission He Weidong, were expelled from the Party and the military on the eve of the Fourth Plenary Session.
Among the nine disciplined senior generals, eight are Central Committee members, such as He Weidong, former Director of the Political Work Department of the Central Military Commission Miao Hua, former Executive Deputy Director of the Political Work Department of the Central Military Commission He Hongjun, former Executive Deputy Director of the Joint Operations Command Center of the Central Military Commission Wang Xiubin, former Commander of the Eastern Theater Command Lin Xiangyang, former Political Commissar of the Army Qin Shutong, former Political Commissar of the Navy Yuan Huazhi, and former Commander of the Armed Police Force Wang Chunning. Former commander of the Rocket Force Wang Houbin was not a Central Committee member.
The 20th Central Committee of the CCP consists of 205 members and 171 alternate members. Eight senior generals who are Central Committee members have been expelled from the Party and will be officially recognized at the Fourth Plenary Session.
Prior to this, CCP Central Committee member and Minister of the Central Military Commission Logistics Support Department Zhang Lin was removed from the National People’s Congress, former Minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs Tang Renjian and former Governor of Shanxi Jin Xiangjun were both expelled from the Party and removed from public office, and former Director of the General Administration of Customs Yu Jianhua, who died under abnormal circumstances in December last year, was also a Central Committee member.
The Hong Kong media “Sing Tao Daily” published a commentary on October 20th, suggesting that at least 12 new Central Committee members are expected to be appointed at the Fourth Plenary Session.
Furthermore, prior to the Fourth Plenary Session, Liu Jianchao, former Minister of the International Liaison Department of the CCP Central Committee, Jin Zhuanglong, former Minister of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, and Lei Fanpei, former Executive Deputy Director of the Central Military-Civil Fusion Development Commission were dismissed from their positions. The three recently announced fallen Central Committee members also include former Chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission Yi Huiman, former Chairman of Guangxi Blue Sky Li, and former Chairman of Inner Mongolia Wang Lixia, but they have not been publicly disclosed for disciplinary actions at this conference.
Researcher Shen Mingshi from the Taiwan Institute of National Defense on Epoch Times stated that the key issue for this Fourth Plenary Session is the appointment of new Central Committee members. If 12 new members are to be appointed, it generally follows the order of the current alternate Central Committee members, but since most of those removed from their Central Committee positions are military personnel, it’s not guaranteed that the alternate Central Committee members in order are also from the military. For those who have been appointed to key military positions following the removal of fallen leaders, if they were not originally alternate Central Committee members, they cannot be appointed as Central Committee members through this method, posing a challenge. Shen cited an example that after Miao Hua fell from grace, if the successor to the vacated position of Director of the Political Work Department is not an alternate Central Committee member, they would not be eligible for appointment to the Central Committee. This makes the situation complicated, requiring for the individual to be listed as a Central Committee member until the 21st Congress.
In accordance with CCP regulations, new Central Committee members are generally officially elected at the Party’s Congress. The Central Plenary Session usually appoints alternate Central Committee members as official Central Committee members. If the Central Plenary Session needs to appoint new members, it requires validation at the next Party Congress.
The top 12 alternate Central Committee members are currently listed as Ding Xingnong, Yu Huiwen, Ma Hancheng, Wang Jian, Wang Xi, Wang Liyan,Wang Yonghong, Wang Kangping, Wang Tingkai, Wang Xinwei, Wang Jiayi, and Wei Tao. Among them, Ding Xingnong, a deputy political commissar of the Rocket Force, was skipped during the appointment of new Central Committee members last year, and the other 11 individuals, Wang Liyan, and Wang Kangping are military personnel.
Shen Mingshi mentioned that during the Third Plenary Session last year, three new Central Committee members were appointed, and Ding Xingnong was skipped at that time, possibly due to corruption issues. If more people are to be appointed this time, ensuring that individuals holding key military positions are indeed alternate Central Committee members and are then appointed as Central Committee members becomes challenging. Therefore, the appointments may not solely rely on the order of alternate Central Committee members but might involve separate elections, allowing non-alternate Central Committee members already serving in important military positions to directly become Central Committee members.
Among the current alternate Central Committee members from the military are Ding Xingnong, Wang Liyan, Wang Kangping, and the fourth member is Fang Yongxiang, Director of the General Office of the Central Military Commission, although there were rumors about his downfall.
Furthermore, the current alternate Central Committee members include Vice Commander and Army Commander of the Northern Theater Command Shi Zhenglu, Deputy Commander of the Armed Police Force Fu Wenhu, Deputy Commander of the Armed Police Force Zhu Wenxiang, Commander of the Airborne Corps Sun Xiangdong, Chief Engineer of the Rocket Force Academy Li Xianyu, Air Force Commander of the Eastern Theater Command Wu Junbao, Director of the Political Work Department of the Rocket Force Zhang Fengzhong, President of the University of Aeronautics and Astronautics of the Strategic Support Force Zhou Zhixin, Chief of Staff of the Armed Police Force Zhou Jianguo, Deputy Commander and Chief of Staff of the Northern Theater Command Jiang Guoping, Political Commissar of the Military Academy of Sciences Ling Huanxin, Deputy Commander and Chief of Staff of the Central Theater Command Huang Xucong, Deputy Commander of the Navy Cui Yuzhong, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Central Military Commission Joint Staff Jing Jianfeng, Political Commissar of the National Defense University Fu Aiguo, President of the National Defense University Li Xiangguo, Deputy Commander of the Southern Theater Command Wei Wenzheng.
The reshuffling within the Central Military Commission has also attracted significant attention.
With the confirmation of being investigated and expelled from the Party of He Weidong, Political Bureau Member of the Central Military Commission and Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission, along with the previous investigations of Li Shangfu and Miao Hua, the number of members of the Central Military Commission will decrease from 7 to 4. Furthermore, with He Weidong’s departure, the number of Political Bureau members will decrease from 24 to 23.
It is speculated by observers that new appointments to the Military Commission may be made during the Fourth Plenary Session, but whether new appointments will be made to the Political Bureau depends on the vacancies left by those who will be appointed to the Military Commission. The question of whether the vacancy left by He Weidong, Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission, will be filled is also of high interest.
Minister of National Defense of the CCP Dong Jun has not been appointed as a member of the Military Commission since taking office, for reasons unknown. It remains to be seen if he will be appointed to the Military Commission this time, marking a significant development.
Currently, the potential candidates for Vice Chairmen of the Central Military Commission are generally considered to be either Liu Zhenli or Zhang Shengmin, who are current members of the Central Military Commission.
Political commentator Yuan Bin wrote an article on October 19th in Epoch Times, pointing out that the CCP often boasts of the success of the anti-corruption campaign spearheaded by Xi Jinping in the military, but the downfall of nine senior generals on the same day proves otherwise – a complete failure. Yuan stated that no military chair has been so incompetent in managing the military as to the extent seen under Xi Jinping, demonstrating the decay of the CCP’s authoritarian system.
Senior commentator Hong Yaonan published an article on Newtalk, stating that the restructuring of the military ahead of the Fourth Plenary Session signifies a political nuclear explosion. From the Vice Chairmen of the Central Military Commission to the Rocket Force, Navy, Armed Police, Eastern Theater Command, Joint Operations Command Center, and the Political Work Central Hub, almost all core military systems collapsed overnight, akin to a “destruction of the senior military leadership.”
The article mentioned that the nine individuals purged before the conference were all frontline leaders handpicked by Xi Jinping. He Weidong was in charge of Taiwan Strait exercises, Miao Hua and He Hongjun represented the model of political work, and Wang Houbin was tasked with the reorganization of the Rocket Force – all considered “trusted confidants.” Now, none of them have escaped the purge, not only severely undermining the military reform itself but also revealing flaws in Xi Jinping’s personnel decisions. This is no longer about anti-corruption but rather about the self-devouring of power. This purge is not just about clearing corruption but also signifies a complete breakdown of trust within the military.