 "Second-ranked Vice Chairman He Weidong at the opening session of the National People's Congress (NPC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China on March 5. His absence was apparent at the recent Politburo study session. File image/Reuters")
In China, top officials keep disappearing. The latest such instance is that of He Weidong, a top Chinese general, who missed yet another top gathering last Friday (April 25). Earlier, He had missed the tree-planting event in the outskirts of the capital Beijing – an annual springtime tradition for the country’s military leadership spanning more than four decades.
He’s absence at the two important events is part of a growing pattern where Chinese military officials go missing. Many report that the disappearance of these personalities is part of President Xi Jinping’s purge of the military’s top ranks.
Let’s take a closer look at who exactly is He and the growing number of military officials going ‘missing’ in China.
He’s absence felt
Last Friday (April 25), He , who is the second-ranked vice-chairman of the powerful Central Military Commission (CMC) and one of the 24 members of the Communist Party’s Politburo, was absent for a top political gathering — the Politburo study session presided over by Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Earlier, He’s absence was felt at a two-day, high-profile working conference on neighbourhood diplomacy on April 9. He was also missing from a voluntary tree-planting event in April that he attended last year.
State media had also reported that He wasn’t present at the symposium, which marked the 20th anniversary of the implementation of the Anti-Secession Law on March 14.
He was last seen on March 11 at the closing ceremony of the National People’s Congress, China’s parliament.
All about He Weidong
For those who don’t know, 67-year-old He is a senior official of the Chinese administration and has held roles in the Peoples Liberation Army for the past three decades. In 2013, he was appointed the commander of the Jiangsu Provincial Military District and a year later, became the commander of the Shanghai Garrison.
In 2016, he was made deputy commander and army commander of the Western Theatre Command where he was deputy party secretary of the army committee. In October 2022, Xi appointed He as the vice chairman of the Central Military Commission. Many had stated that it was an unusual move to appoint someone as vice chairman without going through the top 200 or so Central Committee members in the party hierarchy.
However, He is considered close to President Xi and according to a report in Nikkei considered a member of the “Fujian faction” of Xi’s leadership.
Chinese officials and their disappearing act
The absence of He, according to experts and Chinese observers, is part of President Xi’s anti-corruption drive . In recent times, the Chinese leader has removed a long line of officials for alleged corruption. But there’s no confirmation on the same.
However, Neil Thomas, an expert on elite Chinese politics at the Asia Society Policy Institute, told the Financial Times that He’s purge would be the first of a serving uniformed vice-chair of the CMC since General He Long in 1967.
Xi’s purge of top officials dates back to over two years. Last year, Xi had sacked Wei Fenghe and Li Shangfu , both defence ministers. Wei served in the role between 2018 and March 2023, and was succeeded by Li. Li disappeared from public view within months and was sacked in October 2023, becoming the country’s shortest-serving defence minister.
Both men had “gravely hurt the work of the party”, the development of defence and the image of senior leaders, a report by the Central Military Commission (CMC), China’s top military body, had said in the first official explanation for Li’s sudden removal.
Interestingly, Dong Jun, who took over from Li in December and was the first navy chief in the role, was also under investigation for corruption.
Another high-profile disappearance followed by sacking was that of China’s former foreign minister Qin Gang , who vanished from public view in June 2023 months after taking up the job. He was then removed as foreign minister a month later.
Other officials have also carried out the disappearing act. For instance, Gen Wang Chunning, commander of the People’s Armed Police Force. As per a Nikkei report, Chunning has disappeared from the centre stage a while back, missing many key meetings.
Other similar examples are ground force commander Li Qiaoming and PLA naval commissar Yuan Huazhi, who reportedly went missing last December.
In 2023, General Li Yuchao, commander of the People’s Liberation Army Rocket Force, and his deputy, General Liu Guangbin had also gone missing with Xi ordering for their replacements in August. The Chinese president then appointed Wang Houbin, deputy commander of the PLA navy since 2020, as the head of the Rocket Force. Additionally, Xu Xisheng, an air force officer and party central committee member, was named as the Rocket Force’s new political commissar.
That’s not all. In July 2022, Xiao Yaqing, who helmed the ministry of industry and information technology, disappeared from public view. Three weeks later, the state media said he was being investigated for corruption.
With inputs from agencies