After the announcement of the dismissal of Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Central Military Commission Vice Chairman Zhang Youxia and Commission Member Liu Zhenli, various unusual occurrences have emerged in the CCP political scene. The CCP National People’s Congress Standing Committee held a meeting on February 4, 2026, which did not address Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli, leading to speculations in the public sphere.
On February 4, 2026, the CCP National People’s Congress Standing Committee convened a meeting and issued a statement afterwards. Three military executives, including former Aviation Industry Corporation of China Chairman Zhou Xinmin, China National Nuclear Corporation Chief Engineer Luo Qi, and China Academy of Engineering Physics Director Liu Cangli, were removed from their positions as national delegates. Luo Qi was also stripped of his positions as member of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress and the Committee on Education, Science, Culture, Health, and Sports.
However, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress did not, as expected, remove CCP Central Military Commission Vice Chairman Zhang Youxia and Commission Member Liu Zhenli from their military positions and national delegate qualifications.
On February 2, the Chairman’s Meeting of the CCP National People’s Congress Standing Committee decided to convene the Standing Committee on February 4 to review the “Report on the Qualifications of Individual Delegates by the Qualifications Examination Committee of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress.”
A report by the Hong Kong newspaper “Sing Tao Daily” on February 3 stated that the Standing Committee of the CCP National People’s Congress usually holds meetings at the end of the month and is also scheduled to hold a meeting at the end of February to prepare for the National People’s Congress in early March. This emergency “inserted” meeting, lasting only one day, has raised speculation that it might involve the removal of Zhang Youxia as Vice Chairman of the National Central Military Commission and Liu Zhenli as a member of the National Central Military Commission, and the revocation of their national delegate qualifications.
Prior to this, on January 30, 2026, the CCP Politburo held a meeting. The CCP state media Xinhua News Agency’s report on the meeting did not mention Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli. However, the report ended by mentioning that “the meeting also discussed other matters.”
Well-known democracy activist Tang Boqiao posted on an overseas platform on January 30 that there is now a consensus within the CCP that the arrest of Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli is an illegal detention conducted without proper procedures, a serious violation of the CCP’s own party rules and national laws.
According to relevant regulations, the decision to take action against a Politburo member, especially at the level of a Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission, must be discussed and approved by the Politburo in a collective meeting. However, this arrest did not undergo any politburo discussion or voting procedure, nor did Xi Jinping convene any relevant meeting.
Tang Boqiao cited sources indicating that on January 30, a Politburo meeting was held in Zhongnanhai, with some openly questioning the legitimacy of the arrest of Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli, suggesting a correction, and receiving support from some other participants.
Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli were absent from a regional-level high-level CCP official’s seminar which commenced on January 20, 2026; They were officially dismissed on January 24.
Subsequently, the CCP Military News published four articles on January 25, 31, February 1, and 2, with the first being an editorial and the subsequent three downgraded to columnist articles. The editorial politically charged Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli as “seriously trampling and destroying the responsibility system of the Military Commission Chairman,” but the focus shifted to corruption in the following columnist articles.
Since the arrest of Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli, there have been no official statements from various departments within the Military Commission, various military regions, and branches indicating their full support or loyalty to the decisions made by the Central Military Commission, nor have there been any official media reports on learning and discussion.
Simultaneously, there have been abnormal and frequent troop movements in various military units. Images of heavy equipment moving at night, tanks on the streets, and large-scale troop movements in different military regions like Beijing, Northeast China, Southern China, and Eastern China have been reported. Analysts believe that these large-scale troop movements indicate a form of “control-oriented” deployment aimed at preventing unforeseen incidents within the military, signifying political instability.
Around the time of Zhang Youxia’s arrest, two of his former leaders and CCP generals, Wei Fulin and Liao Xilong, passed away, with the news being delayed for six days to half a month before being publicly disclosed, sparking speculation.
On January 30, 2026, the CCP state media announced the death of CCP General and former Deputy Chief of Staff Wei Fulin due to an “incurable illness” on January 15, in Beijing, at the age of 88.
Wei Fulin was born in 1938 and served in the 16th Army of the Shenyang Military Region in 1958, rising through the ranks to become the Chief of Staff of the 16th Army. In 1985, he became the Director of the Operations Department of the Central Military Staff of the CCP. In 1990, he also became the Director of the National Air Defense Committee Office. In 1992, he was appointed Assistant Chief of Staff of the Central Military Commission. In 1994, he assumed the position of Commander of the Chengdu Military Region. The following year, he became the Deputy Chief of Staff of the CCP’s military and later a member of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress in 2003.
From 1994 to August 1995, Wei Fulin served as the Commander of the Chengdu Military Region; at that time, Zhang Youxia served as the Deputy Commander of the 13th Group Army of the Chengdu Military Region under Wei Fulin.
Additionally, Wei Fulin’s military career began in the Shenyang Military Region, whereas Zhang Youxia served as the Commander of the Shenyang Military Region from September 2007 to October 2012.
Political commentator Cai Shunkun revealed on his platform on January 22, in advance of the news of Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli’s arrest, that in addition to Zhang Youxia’s absence from the seminar for provincial and ministerial-level officials, he also missed the scheduled annual event at the National Defense University. More importantly, it was noted that General Wei Fulin had passed away, and the flower wreath sent by Zhang Youxia was suddenly removed.
On January 29, 2026, Xinhua News Agency reported that CCP Military Commission former member and former Minister of the General Logistics Department, General Liao Xilong, passed away in Beijing at the age of 85 due to an “incurable illness” on January 23 at 1:50 am.
Both Liao Xilong and Zhang Youxia had participated in the Vietnam War. Liao Xilong served as the Deputy Commander of the Chengdu Military Region in June 1985, promoted to Commander of the Chengdu Military Region in 1995, and then became a member of the Military Commission in November 2002 and the Minister of the General Logistics Department.
During this period, Zhang Youxia was appointed as the Deputy Commander of the 13th Group Army in the Chengdu Military Region in 1994 and as the Commander of the 13th Group Army in August 2000. Zhang Youxia was Liao Xilong’s subordinate during his tenure in the Chengdu Military Region.
In his self-media program on January 26, political commentator Cai Shunkun revealed that the day after Zhang Youxia’s arrest, Liao Xilong’s son and brother were also arrested, and Liao Xilong, who made several phone calls to inquire about it, was unable to confirm who had been arrested. A few days later, Liao Xilong suddenly passed away, leading insiders to speculate that Liao Xilong did not die “due to illness” but rather due to fear or anger.
Liao Xijun, Liao Xilong’s brother, previously served as the Deputy Commander of the Guizhou Military Region and was promoted to major general in July 2009.