FILE PHOTO: According to reports from state media, during his visit to the Joint Operations Command Centre on November 8, 2022, Xi Jinping was flanked by He Weidong, Liu Zhenli, Xi Jinping, Zhang Shengmin, Li Shangfu, Zhang Youxia, and Miao Hua from left to right. (Video screenshot)
[People News] At present, the downfall of Zhang Youxia has triggered a frenzied purge within the military. The purge has already spread to a large number of mid- and senior-level officers. “In just two months, hundreds of battalion- and regimental-level backbone officers across the five theater commands and all service branches have disappeared.”
According to a report by The Epoch Times, on Jan. 24, authorities announced that Central Military Commission Vice Chairman Zhang Youxia and member Liu Zhenli were placed under investigation. Prior to this, another vice chairman, He Weidong, had already been missing for an extended period. The core leadership of the Central Military Commission has become nearly a “vacuum” in a short time, raising strong doubts externally about a breakdown in the military chain of command and systemic collapse.
More than two months have passed since the incident, and the political purge within the Chinese military has taken on a frenzied “carpet-style sweep.”
“Investigate Every Case” — 12-Year Retroactive Political Purge
According to a military insider, Chen Yongqi (pseudonym), since Zhang Youxia’s fall, a purge targeting “political disloyalty” has descended into near paranoia. “The investigation orders are extremely harsh, requiring a 12-year retroactive review starting from late January.”
Chen said this means investigations trace all the way back to 2013, aiming to uncover Zhang Youxia’s promotion track, his direct and indirect networks, and even “subordinates of subordinates.”
He added: “First they check the year of promotion, then match it against connections to Zhang and his close associates. Screening starts from the battalion level upward, and large numbers of associates are being pulled out in batches. Now, no matter how strong your technical expertise is, it’s not a shield—once you’re labeled as part of Zhang’s circle, you won’t be spared.”
This “guilt-by-association” logic suggests that anyone who has entered Zhang Youxia’s sphere of influence has become a target.
Big Data ‘Hunt’: No Theater Command Spared
Another source close to the military, Yang Kai (pseudonym), said this “harvesting” campaign led by military discipline inspection teams is being carried out efficiently using big data algorithms. “In just two months, hundreds of battalion- and regimental-level officers across the five theater commands and all services have disappeared.”
Yang revealed that the purge no longer relies on traditional investigations but instead uses big data systems for precise algorithmic screening. Once a red line is triggered within a relationship network, the system automatically locks onto the individual. This efficiency is causing unprecedented panic within grassroots command structures.
The Chinese Military Is Undermining Itself
Chinese military scholar Song Pengchun (pseudonym) said this sweeping reshuffle marks a shift in governance logic—from a focus on combat capability to one centered entirely on obedience and loyalty.
Song said: “Those being purged are mostly experts in military technology. This political operation of ‘de-professionalization’ and ‘de-technologization’ is rapidly hollowing out the core combat strength of the PLA. When the military is left only with political opportunists who flatter superiors, it will completely lose tactical competence and become a mob with no fighting capability.”
Beijing policy researcher Wang Qiang analyzed the issue from a power structure perspective. He said that after military reforms, power was already highly centralized, and now, under the guise of political screening, removing officers with independent judgment amounts to implementing a “dumbing-down” of command management, marking the end of a professional military-building era.
Wang said: “The current command system is falling into unprecedented stagnation and rigidity. When ‘obedience’ becomes the only rule for survival, all professional tactical considerations will bow to political winds. This singular and distorted power structure is stripping the entire military of flexibility in modern warfare, ultimately reducing it to a political tool for maintaining personal power.”
To Become ‘Emperor,’ Xi Will Spare No Cost
Some analysts believe that after Zhang Youxia’s removal, the Communist Party elders have lost military backing and will no longer be able to exert behind-the-scenes influence. Once the remaining forces tied to Zhang are completely purged, Xi Jinping will act without restraint.
In order to secure another term at the 21st Party Congress, a fierce political storm may sweep across the Party, government, academia, and business sectors, as Xi seeks to reassert the authority demonstrated at the 20th Party Congress.
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