Xi Jinping told the sick tree to "cut it down if it needs to be cut down"! New York Times: Attendance at the Fifth Plenary Session of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China may be reduced by 20%, leaving 300 people

Xi Jinping used the metaphor of "cutting down a diseased tree" to purge corrupt officials, and continued to require officials to faithfully implement orders and prepare for the personnel layout of the 201st Party Congress in 2027. (Reuters file photo)

The Fifth Plenary Session of the CPC Central Committee opened in Beijing on the 26th. Chinese President Xi Jinping has been in power for more than 10 years and has continued to promote anti-corruption and political purges. However, he still criticized some officials for violating orders and failing to faithfully implement orders, calling for further strengthening of rectifications. As the CCP prepares for the 2027 2027 high-level personnel layout, this continued doubt about the loyalty of officials has become an important core for outsiders to observe this power purge.

The New York Times reported on the 26th that Chris Buckley, the chief China correspondent in Taiwan, pointed out that in a speech earlier this year, Xi Jinping used a diseased tree as a metaphor for corrupt officials, advocating that "sick trees that should be pulled out should be pulled out, and those that should be cut down should be cut down." He criticized some officials who appeared to obey but actually failed to faithfully implement orders. The speech was only made public this month.

Although the Fifth Plenary Session of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China has opened, the official number of attendees has not been announced as the entire session was kept secret. The New York Times pointed out that among the 376 Central Committee members elected at the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China in 2022, the number of attendees at Central Committee meetings last year has dropped to 315. Reports estimated before the opening of the Fifth Plenary Session of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China that the number of attendees at this meeting may further drop to about 300 or less, considering that some officials have been expelled from the party, are under investigation, or are missing.

The report pointed out that former Chongqing Mayor Huang Qifan and Beijing Vice Mayor Xia Linmao have been investigated recently; former Vice President Wang Qishan, who led Xi Jinping’s early anti-corruption campaign, and many former aides have also been detained or demoted. However, the reasons for the relevant cases are still unclear, and Wang Qishan himself has not been accused of wrongdoing.

It is difficult to eliminate doubts among high-level officials, while lower-level officials are afraid of making mistakes.

The New York Times will continue to clean up and align with the personnel layout of the 21st Party Congress in 2027. The CCP will then make a new round of high-level personnel arrangements. The report quoted expert analysis that Xi Jinping may want to ensure that a new group of officials obey his line.

However, continued purges may also make officials more risk-averse. The New York Times quoted research as saying that some officials are demoralized because they are afraid of taking risks, and the real estate crisis has severely damaged the finances of local governments that have long relied on revenue from land sales.

Ben Hillman, co-author of the study and director of the China Studies Center at the Australian National University, pointed out that local governments, especially in rural areas, often lack sufficient capabilities and resources to meet various requirements issued by the central government. He said that grassroots officials "sometimes can only resort to deceit and perfunctory handling."