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Under Mao Zedong (1949-1976)
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1954
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He was accused of trying to usurp Liu Shaoqi and Zhou Enlai from their positions and for forming an anti-party faction alongside Rao Shushi, the head of the organization department
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Gao Gang
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1966
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For defending Wu Han's play "Hai Rui Dismissed From Office" by declaring the debate regarding it as an academic debate and not a political one. For being part of the Five-Man Group which drafted the February Outline, a document which tried to limit the effects of the Hai Rui debate
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Peng Zhen
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1966
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Minister of Culture and Head of the Publicity Department who helped draft the February Outline. His wife was also accused of spreading malicious rumors about Lin Biao in which his daughter, Lin Liheng was born a bastard of Lin Biao's wife, Ye Qun, and Liu Shaoqi
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Lu Dingyi
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1966
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He was the highest ethnic Mongolian member of the Chinese Communist Party. He was accused of running the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region as an independent kingdom during his tenure as Party Secretary of the region. He was also accused of being part of a pro-Mongolian independence party, the Inner Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party
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Ulanhu
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1966
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Before 1966, he served on a number of key economic positions such as Minister of Finance and as a Vice Premier of the State Council. In 1966 he was labeled as one of the 61 Renegades which were members of the Communist Party who were imprisoned by the Kuomintang during the Chinese Civil War and were later released due to the policies of the Second United Front. However, they were instead blamed for the alleged confessions they made in the prisons, and these confessions are what secured their release
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Bo Yibo
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1967
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Since 1959, he was China's head of State after Mao voluntarily resigned. Due to a number of factors such as Mao's disappointment with his handling of the Socialist Education Campaign, the fear that Mao's policies would be negated after his death, and the fear that Mao's successor would become a Khrushchev and steer China on the path of Revisionism
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Liu Shaoqi
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1967
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He was formally removed in 1967, however in 1959, after sending a private letter to Mao at the Lushan Conference detailing the shortcomings of the Great Leap Forward, he was effectively purged from any meaningful leadership positions. He would still have his seat on the Politburo until 1967
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Peng Dehuai
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1967 and 1976
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At the start of the Cultural Revolution, he would be named the number two Capitalist Roader and was purged from all leadership positions. He was allowed to keep his Party membership and he went into exile in Jiangxi. In 1973, he was brought back to the government and was given the positions of First Vice Premier in 1974 and later Second Vice Chairman of the Party in 1975. In 1976, radical elements in the Party and Mao Yuanxin managed to convince Mao that he was the primary instigator of the Tiananmen Square Protests of 1976, leading to his subsequent purge
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Deng Xiaoping
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1967
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Prior to his removal, alongside Chief of the PLA General Staff Luo Ruiqing, he effectively ran the military due to the ill-health of Minister of Defense, Lin Biao. After Luo's removal in 1965, to further consolidate Lin's position, he was also removed. He would die in prison in 1969
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He Long
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1967
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From 1952-1965, he was the First Party Secretary of Sichuan Province. In 1966, he was accused of running the province as an independent kingdom and removed from the Politburo. During the Great Leap, he was one of its most faithful implementers, leading to excessive policies in the province which would exacerbate the problems caused by the Great Leap
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Li Jingquan
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1967
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Appointed deputy premier of the State Council in 1965, he was put in charge of the government's propaganda department following Lu Dingyi's purge. Also appointed a member of the Central Cultural Revolution Small Group, he assumed a more moderate position, attempting along with the premier to minimize the disorder caused by the Cultural Revolution. This alienated him from the Radical faction, causing him to be purged in 1967.
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Tao Zhu
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1967
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In 1959, he was accused of forming an anti-party clique alongside Peng Dehuai, Huang Kecheng, and Zhou Xiaozhou and removed from any prominent positions, but allowed to keep his Alternate Politburo seat. In addition, he also was a previous opponent of Mao before 1935, as he was part of the 28 Bolsheviks group that rivaled Mao for Party leadership
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Zhang Wentian
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1967
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In 1966 he was made an alternate member of the Politburo to replace some of the ones that were purged. However, due to his more moderate stance, he was removed from his position. Ironically, in 1966, his daughter was photographed putting a Red Guard armband around Mao's arm. This photograph would go on to be famous during the Cultural Revolution
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Song Renqiong
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1970
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Originally a secretary of Mao, he was one of the primary drafters of Mao's speeches and political theories. At the start of the Cultural Revolution, he was appointed the head of the Central Cultural Revolution Small Group where he executed Mao's policies. By 1970, a rift developed between him and Mao's wife, drifting him towards the Military Faction. After the debate at Lushan over whether to enshrine Mao's genius in the Constitution and to restore the State Chairmanship, he was purged
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Chen Boda
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1971
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In 1971, he died mysteriously in a plane crash after an alleged coup attempt codenamed project 571 failed. Named as Mao's close comrade in arms at the 9th National Congress, a number of incidents such as his issue of Order Number One during the Sino-Soviet border conflicts, the Lushan Conference of 1970, and the supposedly inadequate self-criticisms given by his faction in 1971, Mao began to have second thoughts about him. Just prior to his death, Mao traveled around the provinces, criticizing him to provincial leaders
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Lin Biao
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1971
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According to her daughter, Lin Liheng, she had a dominating role over her husband due to his reported mental instability. In 1971, she died alongside her husband and her son, Lin Liguo in a plane crash
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Ye Qun
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1971
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Originally the Chairman of the Guangdong Revolutionary Committee in 1968, he was promoted to Chief of Staff of the People's Liberation Army and became the head of the Central Military Commission Administrative Group He was dubbed one of the four Guardian Warriors of Mao's successor and promoted to the Politburo in 1969. In 1971, he was arrested following the death of Mao's successor and later sentenced to 17 years in prison in 1981
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Huang Yongsheng
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1971
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Held the position of Director of the General Logistics Department of the People's Liberation Army alongside positions in the Central Military Commission. He was dubbed one of the four Guardian Warriors of Mao's successor and promoted to the Politburo in 1969. In 1971, he was arrested following the death of Mao's successor and later sentenced to 17 years in prison in 1981
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Qiu Huizuo
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1971
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Held the position of Commissioner of the Navy alongside positions in the Central Military Commission. He was dubbed one of the four Guardian Warriors of Mao's successor and promoted to the Politburo in 1969. In 1971, he was arrested following the death of Mao's successor and later sentenced to 17 years in prison in 1981
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Li Zuopeng
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1971
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Military leader who was held the position of Commander of the People's Liberation Army Air Force alongside other military positions, he was dubbed one of the four Guardian Warriors of Mao's successor and promoted to the Politburo in 1969. In 1971, he was arrested following the death of Mao's successor and later sentenced to 17 years in prison in 1981
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Wu Faxian
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1971
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In 1966, he was made an alternate on the Politburo, and was re-elected in 1969. Prior to this, he assumed the position of Beijing Party Secretary until 1967, replacing Peng Zhen. However, after siding with Chen Boda in 1970 led to his removal in 1971. He was blamed as being part of the Military Faction
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Li Xuefeng
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Under Hua Guofeng/Deng Xiaoping (1976-1989)
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1976
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After Mao's death, with the help of influential military leader, Ye Jianying, and Director of the General Office, Wang Dongxing, Mao's successor, Hua Guofeng managed to arrest the members of the Gang of Four, which included this person
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Jiang Qing
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1976
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After Mao's death, with the help of influential military leader, Ye Jianying, and Director of the General Office, Wang Dongxing, Mao's successor, Hua Guofeng managed to arrest the members of the Gang of Four, which included this person
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Zhang Chunqiao
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1976
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After Mao's death, with the help of influential military leader, Ye Jianying, and Director of the General Office, Wang Dongxing, Mao's successor, Hua Guofeng managed to arrest the members of the Gang of Four, which included this person
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Wang Hongwen
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1976
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After Mao's death, with the help of influential military leader, Ye Jianying, and Director of the General Office, Wang Dongxing, Mao's successor, Hua Guofeng managed to arrest the members of the Gang of Four, which included this person
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Yao Wenyuan
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1980
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Previously in charge of the security of the central leadership, he was promoted to Director of the General Office following its previous holder's purge in 1965. In 1968, he was further given the positions of chief of the Central Committee Security Bureau and the People's Liberation Army General Staff Bureau. After Mao's death, as a member of the Beneficiaries Faction, he was removed from all prominent positions after losing a power struggle in 1980
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Wang Dongxing
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1980
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Transferred to Beijing in 1968 after serving as a vice chairman of the Henan Revolutionary Committee and put in charge of China's agricultural production in 1970. He was given a position in the Central Military Commission Administrative Group within the same year and later promoted to vice premier of the State Council in 1975. As one of the key beneficiaries of the Cultural Revolution, he resigned from all his prominent positions in 1980 after losing a power struggle
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Ji Dengkui
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1980
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Served as the commander of Shenyang Military Region from 1959 until he was given the command of the Beijing Military Region in 1973. In 1976 he was put in charge of the day-to-day work of the Central Military Commission. As one of the key beneficiaries of the Cultural Revolution, he resigned from all his prominent positions in 1980 after losing a power struggle
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Chen Xilian
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1980
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After serving as the top official of Jilin Province since 1955, he was transferred to Beijing, and by 1973 he was appointed the First Secretary of Beijing. During the 1976 Tiananmen Incident, he was one of the main officials responsible in its suppression. As one of the key beneficiaries of the Cultural Revolution, he resigned from all his prominent positions in 1980 after losing a power struggle
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Wu De
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1989
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Previously the General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party from 1987-1989, he was removed from the politburo following the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests due to his more moderate approach to handling them. He was also accused of trying to split the Party due to his statements during Gorbachev's visit to Beijing and during his speech to the Asian Development Bank, which occurred during the protests
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Zhao Ziyang
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1989
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Alongside the General Secretary, he was also removed from his position on the Politburo due to his more moderate approach to handling the Tiananmen Square Protests. However, unlike the General Secretary, he would not be placed under permanent house arrest and was later given a less prominent governmental position
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Hu Qili
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Under Jiang Zemin (1989-2002)
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1995
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Party Secretary of Beijing since Li Ximing's removal in 1992, he was one of Jiang Zemin's leading rivals. In 1995, he was found to be part of a corruption scandal and this was used by Jiang to remove him from all positions in order to consolidate his position as Paramount Leader
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Chen Xitong
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Under Hu Jintao (2002-2012)
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2006
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Due to his alleged involvement in the Shanghai Pension Scandal, a corruption case in 2006, he was removed from all positions. He was also had close ties to former Paramount Leader, Jiang Zemin, being an member of the Shanghai Faction that owed their careers to Jiang's patronage
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Chen Liangyu
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2012
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The son of influential elder, Bo Yibo and Party Secretary of Chongqing, he was implicated in the Wang Lijun incident, which involved the murder of a British businessman by his wife.
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Bo Xilai
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Under Xi Jinping (2012-Present)
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2017
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Party Secretary of Chongqing from 2012-2017. He was accused of corruption alongside other crimes and was removed from all of his positions
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Sun Zhengcai
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2025
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One of the two Vice Chairmen of the Central Military Commission on the 20th Politburo. He was accused of corruption alongside other crimes and was removed from all of his positions. He is the first Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission to be removed from the Politburo since 1989 and the first Vice Chairman that held the position of General to be removed after Mao's death
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He Weidong
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