Chinese gov’t bishops promoted to political office

The bishops were consecrated illicitly, are part of the State church

At least for illegitimate bishops of the Chinese state church have been appointed to the 12th National People's Congress in China. AsiaNews has the story:

Beijing (AsiaNews) – At least four illegitimate bishops – and some officially excommunicated – have been appointed or re-appointed members of the 12th National People's Congress (NPC), China's parliament, and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), the two most important political structures of the People's Republic. Both summits, with thousands of participants are underway in the capital: the NPC began this morning, the CPPCC began on March 3.

The bishop of Shantou, Huang Bingzhang, illegitimately ordained and officially excommunicated by the Holy See in 2011, was appointed as a new member of the NPA.

Three other illegitimate bishops were chosen for the CPPCC: Ma Yinglin of Kunmin, president of the so-called "Chinese Bishops 'Conference" [not recognized by the Holy See]; Zhan Silu of Mindong, Vice-President of the Conference itself; Lei Shiyin of Leshan, vice-president of' Patriotic Association. Lei was also officially excommunicated by the Holy See in 2011.