China Expels Record 33 Party Members as Xi Purges Deepen

Beijing (GNP): China has expelled a record 33 members from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) at its fifth plenum. The annual gathering of top officials ended this week with the largest number of empty seats in modern Chinese history.

Only 279 full and alternate members of the Central Committee attended. The committee originally named 376 members in 2022, so more than a quarter of the original group was missing. Many of the absences were linked to purges.

Some of those removed are among the party’s best-known figures. Zhang Youxia, formerly second-in-command to Xi Jinping in the military hierarchy, was confirmed as expelled. So was Ma Xingrui, the former party secretary of Xinjiang. Other absences were not explained.

The scale of the expulsions fits the theme of this year’s plenum, which was party governance. Xi has pursued corruption inside the party since taking power in 2012, but in recent years the campaign has reached the highest ranks of both the party and the military. Earlier this year he said the party must uproot what he called sick trees, and described the anti-corruption fight as a never-ending journey.

The military leadership shows the effect most clearly. A series of purges has reduced the seven-man Central Military Commission, which governs the People’s Liberation Army, to just two members. They are Xi himself and Zhang Shengmin, the military’s anti-graft chief.

Zhang was also promoted to the politburo this week, the party’s highest ruling body. He is now the only military figure in that senior leadership group.

The plenum also prepared the ground for the 21st Party Congress, which is expected in the second half of 2027. Xi is already the longest-serving ruler of Communist China since Mao Zedong and is expected to secure a fourth term as party leader. The congress will refresh the Central Committee and the politburo.

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That raises a practical problem for the party. Many analysts believe the recent purges have been so wide-ranging that few suitable candidates remain for promotion. The same expulsions that show Xi’s grip on the party have also thinned the pool of people who could fill its top posts.

The scale of the campaign has also raised questions about its purpose. Some observers ask whether it is also being used to remove political rivals or punish disloyalty.

Neil Thomas, a senior fellow at the Asia Society, said, “More empty seats underscores the plenum’s focus on Xi’s vision of strict internal discipline.”