China’s Communist Party expelled 33 members during its fifth plenum
China’s Communist Party expelled 33 members during its fifth plenum, an unprecedented number that highlights the scale of purges under Xi Jinping. The meeting’s attendance included 279 of the 376 primary and alternate Central Committee members selected in 2022; the report said more than a quarter were absent, mostly because of expulsions and purges.
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China’s Communist Party expelled a record 33 members during its fifth plenum, an unprecedented purge under President Xi Jinping. Only 279 of the 376 full and alternate Central Committee members selected in 2022 attended. Waradana said expulsions and purges caused most absences—over a quarter. Among those expelled were Zhang Youxia, who had held the second-highest position in China’s military command, and Ma Xingrui, former party secretary of Xinjiang. Reasons for several other absences remain unknown. Xi’s anti-corruption campaign, launched after he took power in 2012, has intensified in recent years and reached senior political and military officials. The dismissals reduced the Central Military Commission, which leads the People’s Liberation Army, to two members: Xi and Zhang Shengmin, the official entrusted with anti-corruption efforts. Zhang Shengmin was promoted to the Politburo during the meeting and became its only military member.
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Verifier’s note
Demokratis, Waradana, and The Guardian report the record expulsions amid Xi’s purges at the fifth plenum, consistent with the proposed event; Demokratis and Waradana also describe the party-discipline emphasis. NewsCord is a coverage roundup rather than direct reporting, and International Christian Concern’s report does not establish the record-purge claim.