China’s top legislative body to discuss ‘appointments and dismissals’ amid military purge

The National People’s Congress Standing Committee signals a further shake-up following the dismissal of senior generals and former defence minister Li Shangfu
So far no reasons have been given for the removal of these senior figures, but the announcement signals further changes at the top may be in the offing

China’s Communist Party

Hayley Wongin Beijing

Published: 6:03pm, 8 Feb 2024

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China’s top legislative body will gather later this month to discuss “appointments and dismissals” amid an ongoing purge that has snared several senior military figures.

The National People’s Congress (NPC) Standing Committee will meet on February 26 and 27 to review the agenda and work reports for the annual meeting of the full legislature a week later.

Over the past few months, meetings of the standing committee have been followed by announcements that a number of senior officials have been dismissed.

“The suggested agenda for the meeting includes … a National People’s Congress Standing Committee eligibility review committee report on the qualifications of certain delegates, and related proposals on appointments and dismissals,” the NPC said.

The standing committee’s last meeting in December announced that nine generals – including senior members of the People’s Liberation Army Rocket Force – had been removed as members of the legislature.

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These included the former head of the rocket force, Li Yuchao, and his deputy, Zhang Zhenzhong, who had been removed from their command positions earlier in the year. The South China Morning Post has previously reported that they are under investigation for possible corruption.

Another meeting in October announced that former defence minister Li Shangfu had been dismissed and stripped of his rank as state councillor after just months in the post.

The same meeting confirmed that Qin Gang, whose dismissal as foreign minister had been announced three months previously, had also lost his position as a state councillor, the highest cabinet rank.

Li and Qin are still on the list of the 3,000 or so NPC delegates and their seats on the legislature could now be under review. The pair also remain members of the 300-strong Central Committee, the party’s ruling body.

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The meeting may also be an opportunity for the new Defence Minister Dong Jun to be promoted to state councillor rank and given a seat on the Central Military Commission – positions held by all his predecessors.

There has not been a shake-up of high-ranking figures on this scale for decades. Although meetings of the NPC Standing Committee might have provided a rare opportunity to shed some light on this opaque process, so far Beijing has yet to provide reasons for the dismissals.

The personnel changes were intertwined with last year’s sweeping anti-corruption crackdown, which saw a record 45 senior officials being placed under investigation by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, the party’s top watchdog, according to a tally by the Post.

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President Xi Jinping indicated the wider battle against corruption would not let up last month, telling a meeting of the commission that it must show “no mercy” in tackling the “severe and complex” problem.

The NPC standing committee’s agenda also included amendments to the law on state secrets that expand the scope of information regulated by the law while adding new rules on people involved with state secrets.