China's top legislature on Friday appointed 12 former provincial-level party chiefs and governors to the leadership ranks of the country's parliament and confirmed the termination of nine deputies' status as lawmakers, official records showed, Reuters reported from Beijing. The appointments were made as the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress wrapped up its November 2–6 session.

Source: Reuters via SRN News

Among those moved were Wang Junzheng, the former top official of Tibet; Gong Zheng, the former mayor of the financial hub Shanghai; and Liang Yanshun, the former party secretary of the eastern province of Anhui, along with nine others, Reuters said. Coverage citing the official lists, including in the Straits Times, said the 12 were named as deputy chairpersons of National People's Congress committees — prestigious posts with less operational power.

Among the nine whose lawmaker status ended were four senior military and armed police officers whose resignations from the legislature were accepted, Reuters reported, naming PLA Navy Rear Admiral Zhang Gong, who served as commander of Guangdong's provincial military command, and PLA Major General Guo Jianjun, who served as political commissar of Ningxia's regional military command. The reasons for the resignations were not immediately clear, Reuters said.

12former provincial leaders appointed to legislature leadership roles
9deputies whose lawmaker status was terminated
4of them senior military and armed police officers

A transitional posting ahead of a bigger reshuffle

Leadership posts in China's largely rubber-stamp parliament often provide a transitional posting for senior officials moved out of frontline political roles ahead of formal retirement, Reuters noted — the pattern analysts call a 'soft retirement'. The 12 officials had been replaced in a series of regional reshuffles in recent weeks, often by younger officials, ahead of a broader ruling Communist Party top reshuffle next year.

The military departures land against a wider backdrop: scores of top generals and senior officers have been purged in a sweeping anti-graft and disciplinary drive in China's military, Reuters reported. The legislature did not give reasons for the four officers' resignations in the records cited by the wire.

What to watch

The regional replacements — often younger officials — and next year's broader Communist Party reshuffle will show how far the personnel turnover reaches before the party's next leadership cycle.

What happens next: the new committee deputy chairpersons take up their parliamentary roles while their successors run Tibet, Shanghai, Anhui and the other provinces affected by the recent regional reshuffles. Further Standing Committee sessions are expected to complete the remaining personnel moves flagged by the wire ahead of next year's party reshuffle.