What Does the Removal of Miao Hua and Jiang Chaoliang from the National People’s Congress Indicate?

On October 29, 2024, the CCP’s training program for provincial and ministerial-level cadres began at the Central Party School, where Miao Hua appeared on CCTV with a seemingly furrowed brow. (Video screenshot)

[Peopel News] On April 30, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPC) of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) announced that three individuals—Miao Hua, Director of the Political Work Department of the Central Military Commission and a general; Jiang Chaoliang, former Party Secretary of Hubei; and Ding Xiongjun, former chairman of the Kweichow Moutai Group—have been removed from their positions as NPC deputies, and their representative qualifications have been revoked. Jiang Chaoliang was also stripped of his positions as a member of the 14th NPC Standing Committee and as deputy director of the NPC's Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee.

The fact that Miao Hua, who had been dismissed half a year ago, is now officially “removed” has drawn renewed attention. It suggests that the purge within the military is ongoing and that Miao’s case has now been classified as a conflict between enemies and allies ("enemy-ally contradiction"). Miao had been regarded as a close confidant of CCP leader Xi Jinping.

Exiled liberal legal scholar Professor Yuan Hongbing, citing sources of conscience within the CCP system, revealed that from the first day of Miao Hua’s detention, he exhibited a state of mental collapse, became hysterical, refused to sleep for 24 hours straight, and wrote reports exposing over 80 individuals on the very first day. Along with three of Miao’s secretaries who were also under investigation, the four of them have reportedly disclosed information about more than 1,300 military officers within the CCP system around the time of the Two Sessions.

Meanwhile, He Weidong, the vice chairman of the Central Military Commission, has been missing for over a month and a half and remains unaccounted for. It is believed that he was implicated by Miao Hua as a key member of Miao’s political faction, leading to an investigation. Since the beginning of this year, several military leaders—including Wang Chunning (Commander of the People’s Armed Police), Wang Houbin (Commander of the Rocket Force), Lin Xiangyang (Commander of the Eastern Theater Command), Yuan Huazhi (Political Commissar of the Navy), and Qin Shutong (former Political Commissar of the Army)—have reportedly been investigated due to their suspected association with Miao Hua’s political clique.

Former Chinese journalist Zhao Lanjian revealed that on April 17, the Central Military Commission distributed a classified internal document to all military officers at the rank of major general or above (including retirees), either through direct access to the document or by having it read aloud by military leaders. The document stated that Miao Hua and He Weidong had formed factions and political cliques, seriously undermining the Chairman Responsibility System of the Central Military Commission and the political ecosystem of the military. It further claimed they attempted to influence personnel arrangements for the 21st Party Congress. They were labelled “traitors in disguise” whose crimes were “unpardonable,” and formal investigations were opened into Miao, He, and their clique members.

According to Zhao, Miao Hua had originally aimed to succeed Xu Qiliang as vice chairman of the Central Military Commission but failed. He then vigorously promoted He Weidong for the position. After Miao was taken away, Wang Houbin, Wang Xiubin, and Lin Xiangyang reportedly panicked and rushed to give bribes to He Weidong, seeking his protection. Once under investigation, He Weidong immediately implicated the “two Wangs and one Lin.” Preliminary investigations revealed that Miao had accepted over 100 million yuan in bribes, while He Weidong had taken more than 60 million yuan. The investigation is ongoing.

Reports suggest that since the beginning of this year, the CCP military has launched a new wave of purges, which have caused even greater shock than those involving Li Shangfu and his group. This has sparked widespread panic within the ranks of the military—panic that continues to spread.

Jiang Chaoliang, former member of the 14th NPC Standing Committee and deputy director of the Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee, was formerly the Party Secretary of Hubei. He was dismissed on February 21 this year.

In February 2020, Jiang was criticised for concealing the pandemic and mishandling the response to the virus and was subsequently dismissed. In August 2021, he was appointed to a relatively inactive position within the NPC, which was once interpreted by observers as a “safe landing.”

According to media reports, the nationwide COVID response at the time was “personally commanded” by CCP leader Xi Jinping. Observers believe that Hubei and Wuhan officials became scapegoats to shield the central authorities. Recently, reports have emerged that Jiang Chaoliang was arrested for allegedly leaking secrets about the pandemic and attempting to flee the country.

The removal of Miao Hua and Jiang Chaoliang from their NPC posts highlights the tragedy of the CCP system. In a dictatorship ruled by authoritarianism and the cult of personality, there is no supervision over personnel appointments or governance. Any ministerial-level official who flatters the central leadership and takes a politically correct stance can win favour and obtain political “safety amulets.” However, the CCP’s system is inherently unstable in terms of both personnel and policy. Given the Party’s tradition of political struggle, once an official loses value or is seen as a threat to the leadership, they are treated with brutal cruelty, like a “severe winter,” devoid of compassion. Regardless of the specific reasons behind their removal, it reflects the unusually fierce power struggles at the top levels of the CCP.

The Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee—originally expected to convene in the fall of 2024—has still not taken place. This session, which typically focuses on Party-building, is usually where decisions regarding top-level leadership succession are discussed. The removal of these individuals is bound to affect personnel relations within the CCP's party, government, and military structures, foreshadowing bloody and intense future power struggles. There are even rumours that Xi Jinping's power has been weakened and that some major powers within the CCP have reverted back to the hands of the former general secretary who was infamously escorted out of the 20th Party Congress. If so, what drama will unfold at the 21st Party Congress? Who might be the next official to be forcibly removed from the venue?