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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
World
Alicia Chen in Taipei

‘Even Politburo members can be touched’: what the latest purge says about Xi Jinping’s China

Ma Xingrui, party secretary of Xinjiang,
Ma Xingrui, party secretary of Xinjiang, has been expelled from the Politburo in Xi Jinping’s latest purge of his inner circle in China. Photograph: Vincent Thian/AP

On Tuesday, China expelled Ma Xingrui, one of the ruling party’s most senior officials, making him the third politburo member to be purged since 2022 as Xi Jinping deepens his years-long anti-corruption campaign.

Ma, a former Communist party secretary for China’s north-western region of Xinjiang, was accused of corruption, abuse of power and trading political favours for sex. The announcement came after Ma was placed under investigation in April for suspected “serious violations of discipline and the law”.

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