Guess who’s not invited to China’s key Communist Party congress
Five cadres from out-of-favour Communist Youth League have not received invitations to key meeting this autumn, raising eyebrows among observers
As China’s once-every-five-years reshuffle at the top looms, some senior politicians have surprisingly not yet received their invitations to the gathering, attendance at which is a prerequisite for staying in the political elite.
The omissions, including several top cadres from the Communist Youth League, underscored the shift of power and the tightened party discipline under President Xi Jinping, analysts said. Xi is also the party’s general secretary.
About 2,300 delegates from different provinces and constituencies like state-owned enterprises and the military will attend the party’s 19th national congress. Elections of delegates ended in late June and most results have already been announced.
For decades, high-level elections in China’s Communist Party have been extremely predictable, with the few surprises drawing considerable commentary from China watchers. The party itself has developed strict protocols to keep dark-horse contenders from getting the vote, ranging from controlling the nomination process to issuing clear guidance on who to vote for.
