Former Chinese Communist Party Major General and Former Political Commissar of Hebei Military Region, Li Guangju, passed away on February 23, 2026, at the age of 70. Li Guangju was a former colleague of the recently ousted Deputy Chairman of the Central Military Commission of the Chinese Communist Party, Zhang Youxia, in the Beijing Military Region.
On March 28, 2026, the Chinese Communist Party’s military newspaper released an obituary after a month’s delay, announcing the death of Li Guangju, a retired senior military officer, and former Political Commissar of the Hebei Military Region, who passed away in Beijing on February 23, 2026, at the age of 70 due to illness.
Public information indicates that Li Guangju, with the rank of Major General, was born in Jinan, Shandong Province. He enlisted in January 1976 and graduated from the Artillery Command College with a major in political work. He served long periods in the former Beijing Military Region, holding various positions such as Political Commissar of a brigade in the 65th Army Group, Director of the Political Department of a division, and as Political Commissar, as well as the Director of the Organizational Department of the Political Department in the Beijing Military Region. He was later appointed as the Deputy Political Commissar of the Hebei Military Region in 2012 and promoted to Political Commissar in March 2012. In May 2015, Li Guangju retired as Political Commissar of the Hebei Military Region upon reaching the age of 60.
Li Guangju served for an extended period in the former Beijing Military Region and its subordinate Hebei Military Region, where he was a former colleague of the recently ousted Deputy Chairman of the Central Military Commission, Zhang Youxia. Zhang Youxia served as the Deputy Commander of the Beijing Military Region from December 2005 to September 2007.
Also implicated alongside Zhang Youxia was another member of the Central Military Commission, Liu Zhenli, who had served extensively in the Beijing Military Region. Liu Zhenli and Li Guangju had both served in the 65th Army Group. Liu Zhenli held positions such as Chief of Staff and Commander of the 65th Army Group.
Following their absence from a high-level Chinese Communist Party official seminar held in January, Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli were allegedly arrested on January 20, 2026. Zhang Youxia’s arrest was officially announced on January 24, 2026.
In a surprising sequence of events, two of Zhang Youxia’s former superiors, Chinese Communist Party Generals Wei Fulin and Liao Xilong, passed away on January 15, and January 23, 2026, respectively, with news of their deaths delayed by six days to half a month, sparking speculation in the public sphere.
Public records show that Wei Fulin served as the Commander of the Chengdu Military Region from December 1994 to August 1995. Liao Xilong was appointed as the Deputy Commander and later Commander of the Chengdu Military Region from June 1985 to November 2002. During their time in the Military Region, Zhang Youxia served as the Deputy Commander and then Commander of the 13th Group Army of the Chengdu Military Region from 1994 to December 2005, directly under the command of Wei Fulin and Liao Xilong. Both Liao Xilong and Zhang Youxia also participated in the Vietnam War.