Skip to main content

19 deputies of China’s legislature, including 9 military officers, removed before annual meeting

BEIJING (AP) — China’s legislature has dismissed 19 members, including nine who are military officers, one week ahead of the start of its annual meeting.

The late Thursday announcement did not say why the deputies had been removed, but such removals are generally tied to corruption investigations.

An anti-corruption campaign launched by Chinese leader Xi Jinping shows no sign of letting up after more than a decade. The military has been targeted in recent years, including the removal of its top general last month, as Xi seeks to reform and modernize the armed forces.

Analysts say the campaign is also a way for Xi, who is in his 14th year in power, to remove potential rivals and ensure loyalty among his subordinates.

The dismissals aren’t likely to have a major impact on the meeting of the National People’s Congress, which opens next Thursday and is expected to run for a week. The largely ceremonial legislature rubber stamps decisions that have been made by the ruling Communist Party.

The removed officers include two under the Central Military Commission, the military’s highest body, as well as others from the army, the navy, the air force and the rocket force. Three are generals. The rocket force, which overseas China’s nuclear arsenal, was an early target of the military purges.

The other dismissed deputies were regional representatives from several provinces. The removals leave the National People’s Congress with 2,878 members.

The dismissals were announced by the legislature’s Standing Committee, a smaller and more powerful group of members who meet periodically throughout the year and can approve legislation.

The Standing Committee, which met ahead of next week’s congress, also fired two officials, the president of the military court and Emergency Management Minister Wang Xiangxi. Authorities announced last month that Wang is the subject of a corruption investigation.

Australian watchdog files legal action against Telegram, saying it failed to remove violent content

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Australia’s online safety watchdog has filed legal action against messaging app Telegram, saying the platform failed to remove extremist content including videos of white supremacist mass shootings in Buffalo, New York, and the New Zealand city of Christchurch as well as Islamic State group beheadings. The United Arab Emirates-based app, which reports having 1 billion users worldwide, faces a fine of up to 54.6 million Australian dollars ($38 million) if convicted in the Australian Federal Court for “alleged failure to detect and remove pro-terror material,” eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant said Thursday. The civil action is a test of Australia's 2021 law requiring tech platforms to work to keep illegal and pro-terrorism material off their networks. Telegram denied the claims. “We reject these allegations and will contest them in court,” a spokesperson said in a written statement sent on Telegram.
Read Next Story