Zhao Leji, the third most senior official in China’s ruling Communist Party and chairman of the National People’s Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, was absent from the closing of the country’s top legislature on Tuesday (Mar 11).
Zhao’s last public appearance was at the first meeting of the NPC presidium on Saturday.
It is the first time in decades the NPC closing meeting was not attended by all Politburo Standing Committee members.
Deputy NPC chief Li Hongzhong presided over the closing ceremony as “entrusted” by Zhao. Li announced that Zhao had requested leave from the meeting because of a “respiratory tract infection”.
On Monday, Zhao was also absent from the closing of the annual session of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), which was attended by the other six members of the Politburo Standing Committee, China’s top decision making body, including President Xi Jinping.
It has been a political norm for all the top leaders of the ruling party to attend the opening and closing ceremonies of the annual NPC and CPPCC sessions, known as the Two Sessions since the 1980s, as political endorsement of the national legislative and political advisory sessions.
The annual event also serves as a platform for party and government bosses to hear the views of Chinese elites outside the party regarding China’s most pressing issues.
