On January 24, Zhang Yuxia and Liu Zhenli, the heads of the two military forces of the People’s Liberation Army of the Chinese Communist Party, were officially announced to have been removed from their positions. However, in a strange turn of events, the disciplinary inspection commission’s official website deleted the news of Zhang Yuxia’s removal from office.
On January 24, a search using “Zhang Yuxia” as a keyword on the official website of the disciplinary inspection commission no longer shows any news articles with Zhang Yuxia in the title. However, in a news release published on the same website at 21:24 on January 24, 2026, titled “Defense Ministry Spokesperson Issues News on Recent Military Issues and Answers Questions from Reporters,” the first paragraph still mentions that “Zhang Yuxia and Liu Zhenli are suspected of serious violations of discipline and law and are under investigation.”
Moreover, on other Chinese government official websites, there are still news articles with the title “Zhang Yuxia and Liu Zhenli are suspected of serious violations of discipline and law and are under investigation.”
A former Chinese Communist Party official disclosed that Zhang Yuxia, together with Liu Zhenli, was planning a coup but failed due to someone informing the authorities.
Zhang Yuxia, apart from Xi Jinping, held the highest actual rank in the Chinese Communist Party’s military. Following He Weidong, only three months later, another Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission of the Chinese Communist Party came under investigation. Recently, a large number of senior military officials and personnel from the aerospace industry have been purged.
The military is considered the lifeline of the Chinese Communist Party. Currently, out of the 7-member leadership team of the Central Military Commission, only 2 remain: Chairman Xi Jinping and Vice Chairman Zhang Shenmin. There are now only 4 active generals, including Zhang Shenmin, Minister of National Defense Dong Jun, and the commanders promoted to the rank of general in December last year, Yang Zhibin of the Eastern Theater Command and Han Shengyan of the Central Theater Command.
Some analysts believe that the crisis in the military is an extreme manifestation of the overall political crisis within the Chinese Communist Party. If a military uprising were to occur, the Chinese Communist Party might follow the path of the Soviet Union’s disintegration.