"Intense Anti-Corruption Drive: 113 NPC Delegates Absent in China, Presidium Shrinks by 9"

Lowest Attendance Since Xi Jinping Took Office, Excluding the COVID-19 Period

Ma Xingrui, Former Xinjiang Party Secretary, Absent Again

Bloomberg reported that attendance at the National People's Congress (NPC) of China, which convened on March 5, fell to its lowest level since President Xi Jinping took power in 2012, excluding the COVID-19 period. The analysis suggests that the effects of the recent intense anti-corruption campaign are reaching even the NPC, which is nominally the country's highest organ of power.

Bloomberg, citing Zhao Leji, standing committee chairman of the NPC, stated that 2,765 delegates attended the opening ceremony held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on this day. This means 113 delegates, or about 4 percent of the total, were absent.

Opening ceremony of the National People's Congress (NPC) held on the 5th at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China. Photo by EPA Yonhap News

Except for 2022, when 161 delegates missed the opening ceremony due to COVID-19 prevention measures, this is the highest number of absentees during President Xi's tenure. Those who have been officially expelled are not included in this count.

Bloomberg noted that delegates may be absent for a variety of reasons, such as illness. However, with the recent escalation of the anti-corruption drive, the sharp rise in the absentee rate has led to suspicions that some delegates are under investigation. This suggests that the ongoing purge may be on a larger scale than is publicly known. Chairman Zhao did not specify the reasons for the absence of the 113 delegates.

The number of members in the NPC presidium has also declined. According to state-run Xinhua News Agency and others, the presidium for the opening ceremony of the 4th session of the 14th NPC, held in the morning, consisted of 167 people. This is nine fewer than last year's 176. While five newly appointed local leaders were added this year, 14 people who were part of last year's presidium were excluded. Among them, six have already been officially announced as having fallen from power: Zhang Youxia, former Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission; Liu Zhenli, former member of the Central Military Commission and Chief of the Joint Staff Department; Sun Shaocheng, former Party Secretary of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region; Wang Lixia, former Chair of Inner Mongolia; Lan Tianli, former Chair of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region; and He Weidong, former Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission of the Communist Party.

Meanwhile, Ma Xingrui, a member of the Communist Party’s Central Politburo who has recently not appeared in public, was absent from both the opening ceremony of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) the day before and the NPC opening ceremony on March 5. He was also not included in this year’s presidium.

Ma Xingrui was removed from his post as Party Secretary of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in July last year but did attend the military parade in September. However, he was absent from the Politburo collective study session in October and the Central Economic Work Conference in December, fueling speculation that he is under investigation by the Party’s Central Commission for Discipline Inspection.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.