China’s retired anti-graft tsar Wang Qishan holds on to top legislature spot to stay in the political game
Wang is set to take on the vice-presidency but his power will depend on what Xi Jinping needs him to do, analyst says
Wang Qishan, China’s former formidable anti-corruption tsar, has defied political convention to hold on to a seat in the nation’s top legislature, paving the way for him to remain a player in state affairs for years to come.
Wang, 69, stepped down from the supreme, seven-member Politburo Standing Committee in October after reaching the Communist Party’s unofficial retirement age of 68.
The South China Morning Post reported in December that Wang, who rolled out Chinese President Xi Jinping’s unprecedented crackdown on graft, was expected to be named vice-president at the annual meeting of the National People’s Congress (NPC), China’s legislature, in March.
In the past two decades, all top state officials, from presidents to ministers, as well as the party’s inner 25-member Politburo, have had seats in the NPC. At the same time, all outgoing and retiring top leaders have not stayed on for the NPC’s next session.
But at a meeting of the provincial legislature of Hunan on Monday, Wang was among 118 provincial legislators selected as deputies to the upcoming national legislature session, official news outlet Rednet.cn reported.
That makes Wang the only senior retiree so far on the list, which will be complete when all provinces have named their deputies.
