(L-R) Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission Zhang Youxia and He Weidong attend a plenary meeting of the National People’s Congress in Beijing on March 12, 2023. Lintao Zhang/Getty Images
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) concluded its Fourth Plenum of the 20th Central Committee on Oct. 23. Analysts are raising alarms over instability in the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) after an unusually high number of absences among top officials at the meeting, especially senior military leaders.
According to official figures, 168 of the 205 Central Committee members attended the meeting, meaning that 36 members were absent, in addition to one confirmed absence attributable to a member’s death. Among the 171 alternate members, 24 were absent. That brings the total number of no-shows to 60, or nearly 16 percent of all Central Committee members and alternates. Chinese state media showed that this attendance rate was the lowest since Xi took power in 2012.
