74% Attendance Marks Low Point for Chinese Military Leadership
Party leaders elevated Gen. Zhang Shengmin to the Politburo following a purge that left him as the sole military general on the commission.
By Alexei Malhotra ·
The attendance rate at the recent Beijing summit hit 74 percent, the lowest figure since the era of Mao Zedong.
President Xi Jinping assumed power in 2012 and began a sustained anti-corruption campaign that has continued for more than a decade. Earlier this year, Xi removed two senior generals from their posts. Those actions left Gen. Zhang Shengmin as the only member of the Central Military Commission other than Xi himself. The removals also meant the People's Liberation Army had no representatives on the Politburo.
On Thursday, the Communist Party closed a four-day closed-door meeting in Beijing. Leaders elected Zhang to the Politburo, the party's top governing body. Zhang currently serves as a vice chairman of the Central Military Commission. He also acts as deputy secretary of the CMC Commission for Discipline Inspection, a role that oversees internal discipline within the armed forces.
The gathering adopted a resolution on strengthening self-governance, discipline, and anti-corruption within the party. A summary of the document described the tasks before the party as increasingly arduous. It cited the need to unite and lead the people to safeguard national sovereignty, security, and development interests. The official Xinhua News Agency quoted the resolution as stating the party must maintain its progressive nature and purity while keeping close ties with the people.
Participants reviewed the earlier purges of senior party members and military officials. They confirmed the resulting personnel changes. Neil Thomas, a senior fellow at Asia Policy who studies Chinese politics, analyzed the plenum attendance. He calculated the 74 percent rate and suggested the scope of the purges exceeded many expectations.
The meeting takes place roughly one year before Xi is widely expected to secure a fourth five-year term as party leader. Analysts note that the current focus on discipline extends to officials who underperform in their roles. The resolutions adopted during the session are intended to guide the party in the coming years.
Source: NPR
