China has removed three retired military generals, including a former commander of the People’s Liberation Army, PLA, ground forces, from a key political advisory body just days before its largest annual political gathering.
According to State media on Monday, the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, CPPCC, voted to expel Han Weiguo, Gao Jin and Liu Lei. No official explanation was provided, but the move came amid an intensified purge of senior military officials in recent weeks.
President Xi Jinping has launched recurring anti-corruption campaigns since taking office in 2012. While framed as efforts to clean up the party and armed forces, critics argue the campaigns are also used to sideline political rivals.
About 3,000 delegates from the CPPCC — an advisory body without legislative power — and China’s legislature, the National People’s Congress, NPC, were due to convene in Beijing the week for the annual “Two Sessions.” The meetings begin in some hours’ time, and will run for about a week.
CPPCC and NPC delegates typically serve five-year terms, with the current term set to end in March 2028. Mid-term removals are therefore unusual.
Han, 70, served as commander of the PLA Army from August 2017 until his retirement in June 2021. His two successors, Liu Zhenli and Li Qiaoming, have also been removed from their respective posts in recent months.
Liu Lei, also 70, was political commissar of the PLA Army from December 2015 to January 2022, overlapping with Han’s tenure.
Gao, 67, was the inaugural commander of the now-dissolved Strategic Support Force when it was established in 2015. He most recently headed the Central Military Commission’s Logistic Support Department before retiring in January 2022.
Alongside the three generals, several other CPPCC members were dismissed, including Zhang Kejian, a senior defence industry official who is under investigation for corruption.
Monday’s action follows a string of high-profile removals. Last Thursday, authorities announced the dismissal of 19 officials, nine of them from the military.
In January, senior military figures including Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli were removed from their posts and placed under investigation for “serious violations of discipline and law,” according to China’s defence ministry.
BBC/Taiwo Akinola
