19 deputies of the Chinese legislature, including 9 military officers, were removed before the annual meeting

China’s legislature has removed 19 lawmakers, including nine military officers, as President Xi Jinping’s anti-corruption campaign shows no sign of letting up.

Beijing — China’s legislature has dismissed 19 members, including nine members who are military officers, a week before the start of its annual session.

The announcement late Thursday did not say why the deputies were removed, but said such removals are usually related to corruption investigations.

The anti-corruption campaign launched by Chinese leader Xi Jinping shows no sign of letting up after more than a decade. As Xi seeks to reform and modernize the armed forces, the military has been targeted in recent years, including the removal of its top general last month.

Analysts say the campaign is a way for Xi, who is in his 14th year in power, to eliminate potential rivals and ensure loyalty among his subordinates.

The layoffs are unlikely to have much impact on the meeting of the National People’s Congress, which begins next Thursday and is expected to last for a week. A largely ceremonial legislature rubber-stamps decisions made by the ruling Communist Party.

The removed officers include two under the Central Military Commission, the military’s apex body, and others from the Army, Navy, Air Force and Rocket Force. Three generals. The missile force, which has China’s nuclear arsenal overseas, was an early target of the military purge.

Other dismissed representatives are regional representatives of several provinces. The removal left the National People’s Congress with 2,878 members.

The layoffs are announced by the legislature’s standing committee, a smaller and more powerful group of members that meets periodically throughout the year and approves legislation.

The Standing Committee, which met ahead of next week’s congress, dismissed two officials, the president of the military court and Emergency Management Minister Wang Xiangxi. Officials announced last month that Wang was the subject of a corruption investigation.