The latest removals from China’s National People’s Congress (NPC) have provided new details about disciplinary cases involving senior military and financial officials, while raising questions about several high-profile cases that remain unresolved.
Six senior military officers were removed as NPC deputies over suspected “serious violations of discipline and law,” according to the latest report on deputy qualifications.
Separately, the Standing Committee of the Sichuan Provincial People’s Congress disclosed that Li Yunze, former head of China’s National Financial Regulatory Administration, was removed as an NPC deputy for “serious violations of discipline and law.” The communiqué containing the disclosure was subsequently removed from the provincial legislature’s website.
Meanwhile, Zhang Youxia, vice chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), and Liu Zhenli, chief of the CMC Joint Staff Department, remain NPC deputies more than six months after Chinese authorities announced investigations into the two senior military officials.
Six senior military officers removed as NPC deputies
The Fourth Communiqué issued by the NPC Standing Committee in July provided additional information about six senior military officers whose NPC deputy qualifications were terminated.
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They included three general-level officers: Xu Xueqiang, former head of the CMC Equipment Development Department; Li Fengbiao, former political commissar of the Western Theater Command; and Guo Puxiao, former political commissar of the Air Force.
Three lieutenant general-level officers were also removed: Wang Kangping, former commander of the Joint Logistics Support Force; Yin Hongxing, former political commissar of the Southern Theater Command Army; and Zhang Minghua, former commander of the Cyberspace Force.
The officers were accused of suspected “serious violations of discipline and law,” a phrase Chinese authorities routinely use in disciplinary and corruption cases.
A report on NPC deputy qualifications adopted on June 26 said the qualifications of 15 officials had been terminated.
The list included Politburo member Ma Xingrui, the six military officers and several former provincial and municipal officials.
The removal of the six military officers adds to a broader series of personnel changes and disciplinary cases involving the People’s Liberation Army under Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
Li Yunze disclosure removed from Sichuan legislature website
The handling of Li Yunze’s case has attracted particular attention because different official bodies initially provided different levels of information about his removal.
Li was removed as an NPC deputy without a reason being specified in the NPC Standing Committee bulletin.
However, the Third Communiqué of 2026 issued by the Standing Committee of the Sichuan Provincial People’s Congress included a May 27 resolution stating that Li had been removed because of “serious violations of discipline and law.”
On Aug. 8, the X account “China Personnel Observer” reported that the communiqué had disappeared from the Sichuan legislature’s website.
A search by Vision Times found Communiqués No. 1 and No. 2 of 2026 on the website, while Communiqué No. 3 was no longer available.
The information had already entered the public record. Caixin reported on Aug. 7 that Li had lost his NPC seat because of serious violations of discipline and law, while Sina Finance and Beijing Business Today also reported the development.
The discrepancy between the national and provincial announcements, followed by the removal of the provincial communiqué, has prompted questions about how authorities are handling Li’s case. No official explanation for the removal of the communiqué has been made public.
Questions remain over Li Yunze’s downfall
Li was removed as Party secretary and director of the National Financial Regulatory Administration on April 28, and his profile disappeared from the agency’s leadership page the following day.
Ding Xiangqun was subsequently appointed to lead the agency.
Li, born in 1970, had attracted attention as the first Chinese official born in the 1970s to reach ministerial rank in a central government agency.
Before the Sichuan communiqué became public, authorities had provided little information explaining his abrupt removal.
Hong Kong’s Ming Pao reported in late April that Li Yunze’s removal was reportedly linked to allegations that he intervened in a drunk-driving case involving his son.
On April 18, Li Wei’ao, chief reporter for the mainland Economic Observer, posted a cryptic message on Weibo referring to a powerful father attempting to intervene after his child allegedly drove under the influence. The post did not name Li Yunze.
U.S.-based political commentator Cai Shenkun later made more detailed allegations involving Li’s family and Sichuan public security officials. Those allegations have not been independently verified.
Commentators compare Li case with Ling Jihua scandal
Cai compared Li’s political downfall with that of Ling Jihua, a former senior aide to Chinese Communist Party leader Hu Jintao.
Ling’s son, Ling Gu, died in March 2012 after crashing a Ferrari in Beijing while accompanied by two women, both of whom were seriously injured.
The politically sensitive handling of the crash became closely associated with Ling Jihua’s subsequent downfall.
Cai argued that the allegations surrounding Li’s family could represent a similar situation in which the conduct of a senior official’s child exposed broader political and disciplinary problems.
There is no public evidence establishing such a connection in Li’s case, and Chinese authorities have not disclosed the specific conduct underlying the allegation that he committed serious violations of discipline and law.
The comparison nevertheless reflects the continuing uncertainty surrounding Li’s removal, particularly because the official disclosure from Sichuan was subsequently taken offline.
Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli remain NPC deputies
Another unresolved issue involves Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli, two of the most senior figures in China’s military leadership.
On Jan. 24, Chinese authorities announced investigations into Zhang, vice chairman of the CMC, and Liu, chief of the CMC Joint Staff Department.
The PLA Daily subsequently accused the two of “seriously trampling upon and undermining the system of responsibility under the Chairman of the Central Military Commission” and “endangering the Party’s foundation of governance.”
More than six months later, however, Zhang and Liu remain NPC deputies.
Their continued presence contrasts with the removal of the six other senior military officers and has fueled discussion among overseas Chinese political commentators about when Beijing will formally determine their political status.
Attention turns to Fifth Plenum
The Fifth Plenary Session of the 20th CCP Central Committee is scheduled for October.
U.S.-based political commentator Chen Pokong told The Epoch Times that the Fifth Plenum could bring major announcements concerning Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli, including the possibility that they could be labeled part of an “anti-Party clique.”
Chen has also raised the possibility that Zhang and Liu could ultimately be accused of forming an “anti-Party clique,” a politically significant designation in CCP disciplinary politics.
That remains speculation. Chinese authorities have not announced such charges against either official.
The fact that Zhang and Liu retain their NPC seats, however, means their cases remain institutionally incomplete. By contrast, the six other senior military officers named in the latest NPC report have already lost their legislative positions.
The differing treatment of Li Yunze, Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli illustrates the opacity surrounding disciplinary proceedings involving senior Chinese officials. In Li’s case, a provincial legislature disclosed the reason for his removal before the relevant communiqué disappeared from its website. In the military cases, six senior officers have now formally lost their NPC seats, while Zhang and Liu have not.
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