Could China’s top legislative body soon shed new light on the fates of 2 sacked ministers?

The National People’s Congress Standing Committee will review qualifications of ‘certain individual representatives’ next week, state media reports
Little is known about the status of former foreign minister Qin Gang and former defence minister Li Shangfu, who’ve both been dismissed

China’s Communist Party

Sylvie Zhuangin Beijing

Published: 5:07pm, 19 Dec 2023

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China’s top legislative body will review a report on the qualifications of some members of its legislature, a process that could shed more light on the fate of two recently dismissed officials – former foreign minister Qin Gang and former defence minister Li Shangfu – who both disappeared from public view earlier this year and were subsequently removed from their posts.

The next five-day session of the National People’s Congress (NPC) Standing Committee starting next Monday will examine a report from an NPC review committee on the membership of “certain individual representatives”, as well as relevant dismissal and appointment cases, according to a report by Communist Party mouthpiece People’s Daily on Tuesday.

The report did not elaborate on either of the two agenda items.

The meeting could provide a glimpse into the scrutiny that might result in both Qin and Li being removed from the body, which has close to 3,000 members.

After being hand-picked by Chinese President Xi Jinping, both men were abruptly removed from their senior posts over the past five months after vanishing from public view earlier this year. Beijing’s secretive political machinery has provided no explanation for their removal or details on their whereabouts, and has not confirmed if they are under investigation.

Removal from the NPC could signal serious wrongdoing and grim prospects for what remains of their political careers.

According to a report on the NPC website, ending a membership could be a result of violations of discipline or ethics, involvement in criminal activities, or significantly failing to perform duties, deeming one no longer fit for the position.

Revoking the membership of an NPC representative was the “most important and stringent form of supervision by constituents or electoral units and this concerns the representatives’ political life”, the report said.

01:54

China sacks defence minister Li Shangfu with no explanation after nearly two-month absence

The NPC also accepts resignations in cases concerning violations of law and regulation, resignations ordered by authorities, or voluntary resignations due to “self-blame”, it said.

Qin and Li were both removed from their state positions during previous NPC sessions, weeks after they had each disappeared.

During an NPC session in October, Qin, once a rising political star, was dismissed as state councillor, which had conferred upon him a rank higher than other ministers in China’s cabinet, the State Council.

Qin had been sacked as China’s foreign minister in July, seven months after he took the post, with his last public appearance in late June in Beijing.

In the same October NPC session, Li was dismissed from his positions as defence minister and state councillor, and expelled from the powerful Central Military Commission. His last public appearance was in late August in Beijing.

Qin has since been replaced by China’s top diplomat – and his predecessor – Wang Yi, but no one has been named as the new defence minister.

Both men remain in the 205-member Central Committee, the ruling Communist Party’s top decision-making body.

Qin was appointed as foreign minister in December, after serving just 17 months as China’s ambassador to the United States.

He was made a state councillor during the annual legislative sessions in March, when the party completed a twice-a-decade leadership transition – with a reshuffle of top government jobs and confirmation of Xi’s third term as China’s president.

Li was appointed as a state councillor in March, as well as defence minister, making global headlines as the country’s first defence minister on a US sanction list.