On August 28, 2026, the 24th meeting of the National People’s Congress Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) came to a close. It was announced after the meeting that Zhang Youxia’s position as Vice Chairman of the State Central Military Commission and Liu Zhenli’s position as Member of the State Central Military Commission were revoked, and both were removed from their roles as National People’s Congress deputies.
Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli were suddenly announced to be under investigation on January 24, 2026, and it took seven months for them to be dismissed. During this period, there were various rumors circulating, and several mysteries remain unsolved to this day.
Following the announcement of the investigations into Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli on January 24, 2026, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress convened four meetings on February 4, February 25-26, April 27-30, and June 23-26, each time removing National People’s Congress deputies, but Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli were not among those removed.
The meeting held by the Standing Committee on February 4, 2026, was an exceptional event. The Hong Kong-based “Sing Tao Daily” reported on February 3, 2026, that the CCP Standing Committee meetings usually take place at the end of the month, with one scheduled for the end of February to prepare for the National People’s Congress in early March. This emergency additional meeting only lasted one day, leading to speculation that it might involve the removal of Zhang Youxia as Vice Chairman of the State Central Military Commission and Liu Zhenli as a member of the State Central Military Commission, and the revocation of both men’s National People’s Congress deputy status.
However, the special session only saw the removal of three military executives from their roles as National People’s Congress deputies, including Zhou Xinmin, former chairman of China Aviation Industry Corporation, Luo Qi, chief engineer of China National Nuclear Corporation, and Liu Cangli, director of China Academy of Engineering Physics.
In early February 2026, sources close to the CCP’s political situation informed Epoch Times that the military had submitted a proposal to revoke the National People’s Congress deputy status of Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli, but the proposal did not pass at the Standing Committee meeting convened on February 4, 2026.
Additionally, Ma Xingrui, a member of the Political Bureau and a Political Bureau member, was announced to be under investigation on April 3, 2026. Less than three months later, on June 26, 2026, the 23rd meeting of the National People’s Congress Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party dismissed Ma Xingrui from his role as National People’s Congress deputy. On June 30, the CCP Political Bureau reviewed and approved the report of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection on Ma Xingrui’s case. On July 14, Ma Xingrui was expelled from the party and public office, and his status as a delegate to the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China was terminated.
Another member of the Political Bureau and Vice Chairman of the Military Commission, He Weidong, has been in hiding since March 2025. On October 17, 2025, a spokesperson for the Ministry of National Defense of the CCP announced that He Weidong and nine other senior military officials had been expelled from the party and the military.
Compared to He Weidong and Ma Xingrui, Zhang Youxia’s dismissal from his National People’s Congress deputy and military positions seven months after being announced to be under investigation indicates a significant delay in the progress of the case. The intrigues surrounding Zhang Youxia during these seven months have sparked speculation about power struggles within the CCP leadership.
After missing the opening ceremony of a provincial-level official seminar on January 20, 2026, rumors of trouble and arrests surrounding Zhang Youxia continued to escalate until he was officially announced to have fallen from grace on January 24, 2026.
Before and after this incident, various versions of details and inside information about Zhang Youxia’s arrest circulated, making it difficult to distinguish between truth and falsehood. These versions included scenarios like Zhang Youxia being intercepted and arrested on his way to a party school meeting by agents sent by Xi Jinping, being ambushed by a hundred people while accompanied by four bodyguards, being arrested by the Central Security Bureau at the Central Party School, and more.
Presently, the true details of how Zhang Youxia was arrested remain a mystery.
Following Zhang Youxia’s dismissal, sources in Beijing revealed to Epoch Times at the end of January 2026 that Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli had been secretly detained and were currently held in a highly secure location in Changping, Beijing, in complete isolation.
In early February 2026, a Beijing official disclosed that after Zhang Youxia was placed in custody, he was transferred to a closed base in Gu’an, Langfang, Hebei Province, managed and supervised by Cai Qi.
In early February 2026, media personality Jiang Wangzheng disclosed that after undergoing review and processing, Zhang Youxia was under house arrest in Shenzhen, Guangdong. In late June 2026, it was revealed that Zhang Youxia and his son Zhang Shen were being kept in Villa No. 1 at the headquarters of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection in North Beach, Qinhuangdao.
Where exactly Zhang Youxia is currently detained and which high-ranking CCP officials are leading the investigation into his case remain unknown.
After the Third Plenum of the CCP in July 2023, rumors of health and power crises surrounding CCP leader Xi Jinping emerged, along with reports of Zhang Youxia joining forces with party elders to oppose Xi.
After the announcements of the falls from grace of Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli, the CCP military newspapers published four commentary articles on January 25 and 31, and February 1 and 2, 2026, with the first article being an editorial and the subsequent three articles authored by commentators. The editorial characterized Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli as “seriously undermining the military commission chairman responsibility system” and being involved in “serious political and corruption problems that have seriously undermined the party’s absolute leadership over the military and endangered the party’s governing foundation,” but the focus of the subsequent commentator articles shifted towards allegations of corruption.
On January 25, 2026, the United States’ Wall Street Journal quoted sources claiming to be informed of high-level information, stating that Zhang Youxia was accused of leaking information about the CCP’s nuclear weapons program to the United States and being involved in corruption. However, this news sparked skepticism, with many suggesting the report was “fed” and more akin to a carefully crafted CCP propaganda narrative.
In late February 2026, sources close to the CCP military revealed to Epoch Times that authorities were considering charging Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli from a perspective of “selling positions,” shifting the focus away from the previously reported “serious undermining of the military commission chairman responsibility system” political characterization. This approach aimed to transform the political issue into a criminal matter, making it easier to push forward procedurally and indicating a rebranding of the genuine power struggle as an anti-corruption issue.
On June 18, 2026, commentator Cai Shunkun posted on X platform that, according to the self-media account “Political and Economic Lu President,” Zhang Youxia was suspected of embezzling up to 1.7 billion yuan, a piece of information that had reached high-ranking CCP officials at the provincial level. If true, it signaled a precarious situation for Zhang Youxia, as Xi Jinping had previously drawn a red line for senior officials, sentencing those involved in cases surpassing 1 billion yuan to death.
Cai Shunkun mentioned hearing that Zhang Youxia might face a sentence of life imprisonment with reprieve and speculated that if he were ultimately sentenced to death, the situation would have surpassed the political warning from CCP elder Chen Yun. Chen Yun emphasized that “internal party struggles should not lead to bloodshed, or else it will be difficult for future generations.”
On July 16, 2026, commentator Cai Shunkun revealed that he had recently received information indicating that Zhang Youxia initially refused to admit to the official charges against him. He “refused to plead guilty or confess.” However, when investigators used his son as leverage to pressure him into cooperating with the investigation, Zhang Youxia eventually changed his attitude. “It is said that Zhang Youxia has admitted to attempting to launch a coup, pressuring Xi Jinping to abdicate, and a series of other issues.” Zhang Youxia has clearly admitted to having a plan to force Xi Jinping to abdicate, with the support of senior CCP officials, including Wang Qishan, Zeng Qinghong, and some party elders.
Among the senior CCP officials who have fallen from grace since the 18th Party Congress, such as former Political Bureau Standing Committee member Zhou Yongkang, former Vice Chairman of the Military Commission Guo Boxiong, and former member of the Military Commission Fang Fenghui, they have been exposed for resisting Xi, and even engaging in alleged attempts at a coup against him. However, they were ultimately sentenced on corruption charges, and their political allegations were never publicly disclosed.
It is customary for Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli to be expelled from the CCP and have their delegate status to the 20th National Congress of the CCP terminated at the Fifth Plenum likely to be held in October.
The Zhang Youxia case will most likely be publicly concluded with charges of corruption; however, internal quarrels over the nature of the case and sentencing, as well as power struggles, compromises, and deals between Xi’s authorities, Zhang Youxia, and various factions within the CCP are expected.
On August 28, 2026, after Zhang Youxia was stripped of his position as Vice Chairman of the State Central Military Commission by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, the CCP government website updated the list of leaders of the Central Military Commission, showing that only Xi Jinping and Zhang Shengmin remain on the State Central Military Commission.
In addition, the CCP’s Xinhua website deleted Zhang Youxia, He Weidong, and Ma Xingrui from the list of Political Bureau members, leaving a total of 21 members.
After He Weidong was announced to have fallen from grace in October 2025, Zhang Shengmin, secretary of the military discipline commission, was promoted to Vice Chairman of the Military Commission during the Fourth Plenum that followed.
On July 3, 2026, Zhang Shuguang, secretary of the army discipline commission, was promoted to the rank of general and took over from Zhang Shengmin as secretary of the military discipline commission.
Currently, there are only six active Chinese generals, including Zhang Shengmin, military discipline commission secretary Zhang Shuguang, Minister of National Defense Dong Jun, Central Theater Command Commander Han Shengyan, Eastern Theater Command Commander Yang Zhibin, and Air Force Commander Wang Gang.
Seven months have passed since Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli were announced to have fallen from grace, yet the positions of Vice Chairman of the Military Commission and Chief of Staff of the Joint Staff Department of the Military Commission remain unassigned.
The Zhang Youxia case is closely linked to the upcoming Fifth Plenum of the CCP and the 21st National Congress. The various mysteries surrounding the Zhang Youxia case hint at the strangeness of the CCP’s politics, with intense infighting among high-ranking officials; turbulent undercurrents persist within the Zhongnanhai and the army.
After being dismissed as National People’s Congress deputies and from their military positions, how will the Zhang Youxia case be characterized? Will it implicate more high-ranking CCP officials and elders? Will it trigger actions from anti-Xi factions? Will the Fifth Plenum appoint new members to the Military Commission and Political Bureau? The development of the Zhang Youxia case will bring many new perspectives on the CCP’s political crisis.
(Originally published on August 28, 2026, by Epoch Times)