On September 14, during the commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the establishment of the National People’s Congress (NPC) of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), CCP leader Xi Jinping referred to the NPC representative system as a “great creation,” a “great leap,” and a “great reform.”
In reality, the NPC representative system of the CCP is far from great. It is not only lacking in greatness, but it cannot even be considered a rubber stamp, as it is merely a tool in the hands of the most powerful individual within the CCP. Toeing the line ensures its use, while disobedience can lead to even the NPC Chairman being dismissed at any time. Here are three examples.
On March 4, a reporter from the Singapore’s “Lianhe Zaobao” asked if Li Shangfu would attend the “Two Sessions” (referring to the annual sessions of the NPC and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference). The spokesperson for the NPC, Lou Qinqian, clearly stated, “He cannot participate (in the Two Sessions) because he is no longer a delegate.”
However, at that time, there was no announcement from the NPC regarding Li Shangfu’s removal as an NPC delegate, nor was there any public notice of his resignation as a delegate. On the same day that Lou Qinqian answered the reporter’s question, Li Shangfu’s name still appeared on the NPC’s official website list of delegates, belonging to the delegation of the People’s Liberation Army and Armed Police Force.
It was not until 6 months and 9 days later, on September 13, that the NPC Standing Committee issued an announcement: on July 11, the General Office of the Central Military Commission convened a meeting of military representatives and decided to remove Li Shangfu from his fourteenth National People’s Congress delegate position.
Therefore, while Li Shangfu was still an NPC delegate, Lou Qinqian publicly declared in Beijing, in front of the Chinese people and the world, that Li Shangfu was “no longer a delegate.”
So, who authorized Lou Qinqian to say this?
Li Shangfu was a military delegate of the CCP. It is well known that the CCP’s military is self-contained, and non-military officials and local officials cannot easily make statements on military matters. Especially considering that Li Shangfu was a former member of the Central Military Commission, State Council, and Minister of National Defense, Lou Qinqian should not have freely made statements about whether Li Shangfu was an NPC delegate.
The CCP emphasizes that the military must obey the party’s absolute leadership, specifically, it must follow the absolute leadership of the Chairman of the Central Military Commission. Without authorization from the Chairman of the Central Military Commission, Lou Qinqian would not have dared to publicly claim, in response to a question from a foreign reporter, in front of both domestic and international journalists, that Li Shangfu “is no longer a representative.” Otherwise, Lou Qinqian would have made a serious political mistake.
After the CCP’s “Two Sessions” this year, we did not see any news of Lou Qinqian being disciplined for his statement regarding Li Shangfu. This indicates that Lou Qinqian’s statement about Li Shangfu did not constitute an error.
On March 4, when Lou Qinqian said that Li Shangfu “is no longer a delegate,” on July 11, the General Office of the Central Military Commission conducted the necessary procedures to remove Li Shangfu’s NPC delegate qualification; on September 13, the NPC Standing Committee formally issued the announcement to revoke Li Shangfu’s NPC delegate qualification.
Lou Qinqian’s statement exposed that whether Li Shangfu is an NPC delegate or not does not depend on the General Office of the Central Military Commission or the NPC Standing Committee but is “decided by one person.”
On August 29, 2023, was the last public appearance of Li Shangfu, a former member of the Central Military Commission, State Council, and Minister of National Defense.
After that, Li Shangfu seemed to have “disappeared.” As a key figure within the CCP, the military, and the government, his whereabouts were a matter of global concern. Following Li Shangfu’s “disappearance,” domestic and international journalists had been relentlessly searching for answers: Where had Li Shangfu gone?
Nearly two months later, domestic and international journalists finally received an answer:
On October 24, 2023, the Sixth Session of the Fourteenth NPC Standing Committee decided to dismiss Li Shangfu from his positions as a member of the Central Military Commission, State Council, and Minister of National Defense.
Why were all three of Li Shangfu’s high-ranking positions terminated simultaneously? The NPC Standing Committee did not disclose any information to the public. The Chinese people, who were being told that they were “the masters of the house” by the CCP, were completely kept in the dark!
No NPC delegate explained to their constituents why Li Shangfu was removed from his positions.
No Chinese citizens could legally and openly understand why Li Shangfu was removed from his positions through legitimate channels.
No Chinese citizens could exercise their rights to question, challenge, supervise, criticize, or offer suggestions regarding “Why was Li Shangfu dismissed?” through public and unimpeded means within China’s media.
No Chinese citizens overseas could learn the truth behind “Why was Li Shangfu dismissed” through legal, public, and unrestricted channels from foreign media.
Regarding the appointment and dismissal of vice-ministerial-level CCP, military, and national leaders like Li Shangfu, the Chinese people, who are purportedly the “masters of the house,” should have had the right to be informed, question, supervise, criticize, and suggest. However, all these rights were deprived by the CCP.
Just before the CCP’s Twentieth Third Plenary Session in July 2024, the CCP suddenly released the following information:
First, on August 31, 2023, the Discipline Inspection Commission of the Central Military Commission initiated an investigation into Li Shangfu’s serious violations of discipline and law.
Second, the Investigation Commission of the Central Military Commission concluded that Li Shangfu had severely violated political discipline, organizational discipline, and integrity discipline, accepted huge bribes, was suspected of bribery and influencing, and had other serious clues related to violations of discipline and law. Li Shangfu “seriously contaminated the political ecology and industry atmosphere of the military equipment field,” causing “great damage to national defense and military construction, the nature of which is extremely serious, the impact is extremely negative, and the harm is particularly significant.”
Third, the Central Military Commission imposed disciplinary actions on Li Shangfu, expelling him from military service and revoking his rank of lieutenant general.
Fourth, on June 27, 2024, the Politburo meeting of the CCP deliberated and approved a report on the investigation results and handling suggestions of the Li Shangfu issue by the Central Military Commission, deciding to expel Li Shangfu from the party (to be ratified at the plenary session of the Central Committee) and terminate his qualifications as a representative of the Twentieth Party Congress. Li Shangfu’s suspected criminal issues were referred to the military procuratorate for investigation and prosecution.
All the above-mentioned information was released by Xinhua News Agency on June 27, 2024. The release of this information indicated:
Li Shangfu was under investigation, and the Chinese people were kept in the dark for almost 10 months.
The Chinese people were still unaware of when Li Shangfu was expelled from military service and stripped of his lieutenant general rank.
Given the seriousness of Li Shangfu’s issues, how did he rise to become a member of the Central Military Commission, State Council, and Minister of National Defense? How did he become a representative of the National People’s Congress, the Twentieth Party Congress, and a member of the Central Committee? The Chinese people remained oblivious to these answers.
Even knowing about Li Shangfu’s severe issues, why wasn’t his NPC delegate status terminated promptly? The Chinese people were left unaware.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs represents a country to the outside world, while the Minister of National Defense represents a country’s military. Looking at Li Shangfu’s serious violations of discipline and law, it is evident that his image as the CCP’s military representative abroad was exceedingly unflattering.
Li Shangfu was the first senior CCP general to be targeted by US sanctions. In 2018, while serving as the Minister of Equipment Development of the Central Military Commission, Li Shangfu violated US prohibitions during a significant deal with a Russian arms dealer, leading to his sanction by the United States.
Li Shangfu was a CCP, military, and national leader personally promoted and trusted by Xi Jinping under enormous pressure from the United States. He should have been meticulously selected and evaluated repeatedly by Xi among senior military leaders. But upon closer inspection, his outwardly polished appearance belied the fact that he was a seriously corrupt individual.
If Li Shangfu, chosen so carefully by Xi Jinping, turned out this way, what can be said about the other senior officials? One can’t help but wonder if the CCP’s military has reached an unprecedented level of corruption? This is a significant issue relating to the security of the Chinese people, yet the Chinese people were completely kept in the dark.
In 1988, Wan Li became the Chairman of the Seventh NPC.
In April 1989, following the death of Hu Yaobang, the former General Secretary of the CCP who was deposed by Deng Xiaoping, China witnessed the largest anti-corruption and pro-democracy protest movement since the end of the Cultural Revolution.
How to resolve the protesters’ issues?
At the time, Deng Xiaoping, then the Chairman of the Central Military Commission, advocated for a crackdown.
Zhao Ziyang, then the General Secretary of the CCP, proposed solving the issue through democratic and legal means.
Wan Li, the Chairman of the NPC, also supported a resolution within the framework of democracy and rule of law.
As the protests intensified, on May 12, 1989, Wan Li began his official visit to Canada and the United States. On May 17, Wan Li, while meeting with the Governor General of Canada in Ottawa, stated, “The demands of students, intellectuals, and workers for democracy and against corruption constitute a patriotic movement urging for expedited reform in our country. We will address issues of widespread concern during the Eighth Session of the Seventh NPC Standing Committee.”
On May 21, while attending a reception for the Chinese community at the Holiday Inn in Toronto, Wan Li stated, “Students hope to promote democracy, and the agenda and goals of combating corruption are aligned with the government’s efforts. These issues should be resolved within the framework of democracy and the rule of law.”
On May 22, Wan Li met with the US Secretary of State and stated, “The goals of Chinese people opposing corruption, bribery, and government are aligned, but these issues must be resolved gradually within the framework of democracy and the rule of law.”
As the domestic situation became increasingly tense, Wan Li grew increasingly anxious.
On May 23, 1989, Wan Li decided to cut short his visit to the United States and return to China early. Typically, Wan Li should have immediately flown back to Beijing to convene the NPC Standing Committee to discuss how to address the protests. However, he was required to fly to Shanghai instead.
On May 25, after Wan Li arrived in Shanghai, he was intercepted by a “special envoy” from Deng Xiaoping – the then Secretary of the Shanghai Municipal Party Committee, Jiang Zemin. According to the book “Jiang Zemin,” Jiang handed Wan Li a handwritten letter from Deng Xiaoping. In the letter, Deng earnestly requested Wan Li to “help him at this critical moment for the sake of their decades-long friendship.” During Wan Li’s time in Shanghai, Jiang handed over the bottom line to Wan Li, and until Wan Li agreed, Jiang was instructed to keep him in Shanghai. On May 27, Wan Li had to issue a public statement, agreeing with Deng’s decision.
According to the CCP Constitution, the NPC is the highest authority. Under this premise, the Chairman of the NPC should be the top leader of the highest authority.
When large-scale public protests occurred nationwide, the Chairman of the NPC had the power to convene an NPC Standing Committee meeting legally and make decisions to respond.
However, the aforementioned events demonstrated:
First, as the Chairman of the NPC, Wan Li did not have the authority to make the decision to fly directly from the US to Beijing.
Second, as the Chairman of the NPC, if Wan Li disagreed with the decision of the Chairman of the Central Military Commission Deng Xiaoping, he would be “softly detained” in Shanghai without personal freedom.
Third, as the Chairman of the NPC, Wan Li had to obey Deng Xiaoping’s decisions to fly back to Beijing and continue as the Chairman.
In summary, Deng Xiaoping, as the Chairman of the Central Military Commission, had the power to decide whether Wan Li’s political life would continue or end.
While in Beijing, I once heard a joke: In a theoretical study test in a county, there was a question: “Who is the highest authority in China?” The correct answer was: the National People’s Congress. However, the County Party Secretary adamantly disagreed, believing that the correct answer should be: the CCP Politburo Standing Committee. After all, the National People’s Congress had to listen to the CCP Politburo Standing Committee.
This was a joke, but not entirely a joke. The County Party Secretary spoke the truth. In China, as long as the CCP reigns, it will always supersede the National People’s Congress, as well as the government (State Council), the courts (Supreme People’s Court, Supreme People’s Procuratorate), and the supervision commission, through the Chairman of the National Military Commission, effectively placing itself above all party, government, and military officials. The claim that the NPC representative system is superior, by the CCP, is an international joke!
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