China expelled senior official Ma Xingrui from the ruling Communist Party on Tuesday following accusations of corruption, abuse of power, and trading political favors for sex, as reported by The Guardian.
The former Xinjiang party secretary is the third Politburo member purged since 2022 under President Xi Jinping's anti-corruption campaign.
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The removal of the 67-year-old official follows an investigation initiated in April for suspected "serious violations of discipline and the law."
Ma, who has not been seen publicly since the announcement, is the first civilian official in the elite political body to fall in this latest cycle, following military officials Zhang Youxia and He Weidong.
Rare Purge of Civilian Politburo Member
Joseph Torigian, an associate professor at American University and a historian of Chinese elite politics, highlighted the rarity of a civilian Politburo member being targeted in this manner.
"This is the only civilian [within the politburo] that's been purged," Torigian said.
Torigian compared the scale of this political dismissal to historical events in China, noting he hasn't seen something like that since the purge of the Gang of Four.
He noted that the move sends a clear message about the absolute reach of the current leadership's anti-graft drive.
"One of the signals [of what] Xi Jinping is hoping to get out of this purge is that even politburo members, no matter who you are, can be touched by this kind of crackdown," Torigian said.
