Politics News

China expels a record 33 at the party plenum: a purge, or a reset for the military?

China's Communist Party expelled a record 33 members at its fifth plenum, which ended on Thursday, October 29, The Guardian reported. It said an unprecedented number of empty seats showed the scale of the purges under Xi Jinping.

The South China Morning Post reported that the closing communique named a new batch of senior figures under formal investigation, including generals who once ran theatre commands, heads of the Central Military Commission's General Office and executives of key defence companies. In all, 16 generals were expelled from the party. At the same time, the general who led the military's anti-graft purge, Zhang Shengmin, was promoted to the Politburo, and ten officials were promoted to full Central Committee membership.

Officials must not have “the audacity, opportunity, or desire to commit corruption”. — party communique, via South China Morning Post

The Hindu reported that the party said it had “eliminated dangers”, and noted that Xi's campaign has caught thousands of officials in more than a decade.

How each outlet framed it

• The Guardian — the record: empty seats as a picture of Xi's purge.
• South China Morning Post — inside the system: who was named and who was promoted, and analysts who expect the military's place in the top leadership to be restored by next year's 21st party congress.
• The Hindu — the party's own framing: dangers “eliminated”.

What we don't know yet: Who will fill the military seats in the top leadership. The SCMP's analysts expect that process to be completed at the 2027 congress.