The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Daily suddenly issued another article today, January 31st, condemning the former Vice Chairman of the Military Commission, Zhang Youxia, and Military Commission member Liu Zhenli, who fell from grace a few days ago. The article called on the military to support the investigation and punishment of these two individuals, while maintaining unity with the leader of the Chinese Communist Party, Xi Jinping. Experts believe that this article confirms that Zhang and Liu’s arrests have caused unrest within the military, and the authorities are using anti-corruption propaganda to mask the underlying political struggles, potentially leading to even greater backlash.
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Daily published a front-page article on January 31st, stating that dealing with Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli is a “major victory in the anti-corruption struggle” and holds significant meaning in “removing the roots of corruption.” The article called on “all military officers and soldiers to resolutely support the decisions of the Central Committee of the Party,” to “maintain a high degree of unity with the Central Committee led by Xi,” and more.
The article also claimed that the Chinese Communist Party’s “anti-corruption campaign is the most thorough self-revolution,” and the investigation and scrutiny of Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli “once again demonstrates the principle of no forbidden zones, full coverage, and zero tolerance towards corruption.”
Throughout the article, Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli were repeatedly mentioned, with the conclusion urging the military to “implement the system of military chairman responsibility, resolutely listen to Chairman Xi’s command, take responsibility for Chairman Xi, and ensure Chairman Xi’s peace of mind,” and so on.
Shen Mingshi, a researcher at the Taiwan Institute for National Defense and Security Studies, commented to Epoch Times that the Chinese Communist Party always advocates for whatever is lacking or emphasizes certain matters. After several days since the incident, the military newspaper again criticizes Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli, confirming the instability within the military and the rumors of a backlash.
Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli, both civilian officials, were officially dismissed on January 24th. The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Daily published a commentary late that night, accusing the two of “seriously trampling and sabotaging the system of the military chairman’s responsibility,” and causing “serious damage to the political and corruption issues that harm the party’s absolute leadership over the military and jeopardize the ruling foundation of the Party,” drawing strong attention from the public. Subsequently, various rumors of internal disturbances within the military spread online, including Xi’s control over major military regions and personnel of prominent families; military officers’ resistance to Xi’s arrest of Zhang Youxia, many submitting resignation or job change reports, and more. However, these reports could not be verified.
Shen Mingshi stated that the recent publication by the military newspaper urging the military to support the central decisions might indicate that many Group Armies support Zhang Youxia. Moreover, they are not pleased with Xi Jinping using these methods to deal with senior military officials. Due to the instability within the military, Xi Jinping is using the military newspaper to urge different troops to obey the leadership of the Central Committee led by Xi. The use of strong language in the military newspaper is meant to convey the message that Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli are now powerless to make a comeback, attempting to stabilize the military.
However, Shen Mingshi pointed out that in the previous military newspaper commentary, the main accusation against Zhang and Liu was serious political crimes such as severely trampling and sabotaging the system of the military chairman’s responsibility. This time, the military newspaper criticized Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli for corruption throughout the article, using the legitimacy and justice of anti-corruption to suppress them without providing specific evidence of their corruption.
He pointed out that if Zhang Youxia is involved in corruption, such as bribery or equipment scandals, why would the military newspaper also criticize Liu Zhenli? Liu Zhenli would not have been involved in equipment development. This turns corruption into an indiscriminate accusation that can be used to target any officer associated with Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli, turning it into a political struggle.
After the official dismissal of Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli and the military newspaper’s characterization of the two individuals that night, the Chinese Communist Party propaganda went silent for a while, and the military did not collectively make any statements regarding Xi Jinping’s handling of Zhang Youxia.
Furthermore, checking the content of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army website over the past few days reveals that some regions and military branches, such as a certain unit of the People’s Armed Police, the 82nd Group Army responsible for guarding the capital, and the Beijing Garrison, are engaging in political studies focusing on “Xi Jinping’s Strong Military Thought.”
Shen Mingshi stated that the latest article by the military newspaper seems to be aimed at supporting the political ideological work on military personnel carried out by the authorities. However, without clear evidence of corruption against Zhang and Liu, simply propagandizing and brainwashing the military personnel might work temporarily but could lead to greater backlash in the future.
On January 28th, Epoch Times exclusively reported that several sources close to the Chinese military revealed widespread resistance at the grassroots level in the military following the investigations into Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli by the Chinese authorities. Directives issued by the Central Military Commission to various military regions and Group Armies were not implemented, with orders stagnating within the military, leading to an unusual operational state within the Chinese military.
On January 30th, the Chinese Communist Party’s Central Political Bureau held a meeting emphasizing the need to “adhere to the centralization and unity of leadership by the Party Central Committee.” China expert Wang He believes that in recent years, the Chinese Communist Party has consistently stressed centralized and unified leadership, considering it the highest political principle, and reiterating it. However, this time it holds a special meaning regarding the downfall of Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli.