The ongoing infighting within the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) military continues and has now spread to retired generals. Three retired generals, including Han Weiguo, have been relieved of their positions as members of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC).
According to a report by Xinhua News Agency on March 2, the 15th meeting of the CPPCC National Committee concluded in the afternoon, announcing several decisions regarding appointments and removals.
Han Weiguo was dismissed from his positions as a member of the CPPCC National Committee and Deputy Director of the Proposal Committee. Liu Lei was removed from his positions as a member of the CPPCC National Committee and Deputy Director of the Agriculture and Rural Committee. Gao Jin was relieved of his positions as a member of the CPPCC National Committee and Deputy Director of the Economic Committee. The CPPCC membership of Han Weiguo, Liu Lei, and Gao Jin was revoked.
In a previous report by Epoch Times, at least seven generals were absent from the opening ceremony of this meeting, including former political commissar of the Western Theater Command, Wu Shezhou; former commander of the Armed Police Force, Wang Ning; former commander of the Western Theater Command, Zhao Zongqi; former political commissar of the National Defense University, Zheng He; former commander of the Army, Han Weiguo; former political commissar of the Army, Liu Lei; and former Minister of Logistics Support of the Central Military Commission, Gao Jin. Among them, Han Weiguo, Liu Lei, and Gao Jin have consecutively missed the 14th and 15th meetings of the CPPCC National Committee in the past four months.
Han Weiguo has been rumored to have been in trouble since the end of 2024. On February 23, 2026, commentator Cai Shunkun revealed on platform X that General Han Weiguo, 70, was demoted to a lower rank before the Chinese New Year as part of internal reorganization.
Han Weiguo and former member of the Military Commission, Miao Hua, both started their military careers in the 31st Group Army of the former Nanjing Military Region and worked together in the 12th Group Army. Han Weiguo and former member of the Military Commission, Liu Zhenli, also worked together in the Army and are fellow natives of Shijiazhuang in Hebei Province.
Liu Lei, a former subordinate of Miao Hua, served as the Political Commissar of the Xinjiang Military Region under the Lanzhou Military Region from 2013 to 2015. Liu Lei held the position of Army Political Commissar for six years from December 2015 to January 2022, partnering with three Army Commanders successively: Li Zuocheng (December 2015 to August 2017), Han Weiguo (August 2017 to June 2021), and Liu Zhenli (June 2021 to September 2022). Liu Lei worked closely with Han Weiguo in the Army for nearly four years.
Liu Zhenli, Vice Chairman of the CCP Military Commission and Chief of Staff of the Joint Staff Department of the Military Commission, served as Chief of Staff of the Army from December 2015 to June 2021 and then succeeded Han Weiguo as Army Commander in June 2021. He worked with Liu Lei for over five years. Liu Zhenli and Vice Chairman of the Military Commission, Zhang Youxia, were both ousted in January 2026.
Gao Jin, originally from the Second Artillery Corps, served as Chief of Staff of the Second Artillery Corps from December 2011 to July 2014, working with the then Commander of the Second Artillery Corps, Wei Fenghe, for nearly two years. Wei Fenghe later became a member of the Military Commission and Minister of National Defense and was investigated in September 2023.
Gao Jin then served as Assistant Chief of the General Staff from July to December 2014, working with then member of the Military Commission and Chief of the General Staff, Fang Fenghui, for nearly six months. Fang Fenghui was officially dismissed in January 2018.
Gao Jin became the President of the Academy of Military Science in December 2014 and served as the first Commander of the newly established Strategic Support Force from December 31, 2015, to April 2019. Gao Jin became the Minister of Logistics Support of the Military Commission in April 2019. Before turning 63, Gao Jin retired early from the post of Minister of Logistics Support in January 2022 and became a member of the 14th National CPPCC and Deputy Director of the Economic Committee in March 2023.
Following the downfall of Vice Chairman Zhang Youxia and Chief of Staff Liu Zhenli of the CCP Military Commission, an article in the CCP Military Newspaper on February 9 claimed that “the remaining corrupt elements have not been thoroughly eliminated” and called for “political rectification” to eradicate them. Zheng Haochang, a commentator on current affairs based in the United States, told Epoch Times that some retired military generals who have been out of service for years might also come under scrutiny.
China affairs expert Li Linyi stated that generals who were also absent from the CPPCC meeting, such as former Political Commissar of the Western Theater Command, Wu Shezhou; former Armed Police Force Commander, Wang Ning; former Western Theater Command Commander, Zhao Zongqi; and former Political Commissar of the National Defense University, Zheng He, were not removed from their CPPCC positions this time, but their future is not necessarily secure.
The recent CPPCC National Committee meeting also involved the job changes of 16 officials. Zhang Kejian was removed from his position as member of the CPPCC National Committee and had his membership revoked. The official announcement also mentioned that Yang Hui and Li Shenglong’s resignation from the CPPCC membership was accepted; Wang Chunru’s CPPCC membership was revoked, and the meeting approved the decision to revoke the CPPCC membership of Wang Xinghuan, Zhang Dongchen, Cao Jianguo, Liu Guoyue, Ma Zhengwu, Fan Youshan, Zeng Yi, Yu Peigen, Tian Xuebin, and He Song of the 14th National CPPCC.
Zhang Kejian was relieved of his position as Secretary of the Party Group of the CCP National Defense Science and Technology Industry Bureau at the end of 2024 and was removed from several other positions on January 10, 2025.
Yang Hui is the founder and chairman of Yun Account; Li Shenglong is the Deputy Chairman of the Democratic Progressive Party Committee of Chongqing; Wang Chunru is a researcher at the Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences.
On December 24, 2025, Wang Xinghuan, Zhang Dongchen, Cao Jianguo, Liu Guoyue, Ma Zhengwu, Fan Youshan, Zeng Yi, and Yu Peigen were stripped of their CPPCC memberships. Cao Jianguo, Zhang Dongchen, Zeng Yi, and Fan Youshan are from the military-industrial system; Liu Guoyue and Yu Peigen are from the energy system, Ma Zhengwu is from the logistics system, and Wang Xinghuan is an expert in urology. During the outbreak of the novel coronavirus (CCP virus), he also served as the Director of Leishenshan Hospital.
On February 6, 2026, Senior Colonel He Song, Deputy Minister of the Logistics Support Department of the CCP Military Commission, and former Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Water Resources Tian Xuebin were stripped of their CPPCC membership. Tian Xuebin had been under investigation since January and attracted attention because he used to be the secretary of former Premier Wen Jiabao.
In addition, the CPPCC meeting that ended today also appointed Qi Bin as a member of the 14th National CPPCC and Deputy Director of the Economic Committee, and he is the former Deputy Director of Beijing’s Liaison Office in Hong Kong; Tang Liangzhi was appointed as the Deputy Director of the Education, Science, Health, and Sports Committee. Tang Liangzhi was the former Chairman of the Political Consultative Conference in Anhui Province.