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Could China’s top legislative body soon shed new light on the fates of 2 sacked ministers?
- The National People’s Congress Standing Committee will review qualifications of ‘certain individual representatives’ next week, state media reports
- Little is known about the status of former foreign minister Qin Gang and former defence minister Li Shangfu, who’ve both been dismissed
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Sylvie Zhuangin Beijing
China’s top legislative body will review a report on the qualifications of some members of its legislature, a process that could shed more light on the fate of two recently dismissed officials – former foreign minister Qin Gang and former defence minister Li Shangfu – who both disappeared from public view earlier this year and were subsequently removed from their posts.
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The next five-day session of the National People’s Congress (NPC) Standing Committee starting next Monday will examine a report from an NPC review committee on the membership of “certain individual representatives”, as well as relevant dismissal and appointment cases, according to a report by Communist Party mouthpiece People’s Daily on Tuesday.
The report did not elaborate on either of the two agenda items.
The meeting could provide a glimpse into the scrutiny that might result in both Qin and Li being removed from the body, which has close to 3,000 members.
After being hand-picked by Chinese President Xi Jinping, both men were abruptly removed from their senior posts over the past five months after vanishing from public view earlier this year. Beijing’s secretive political machinery has provided no explanation for their removal or details on their whereabouts, and has not confirmed if they are under investigation.
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