The former commander of the Central Theater Command and Army Commander of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), General Han Weiguo, has been demoted to a positive brigade rank after reports emerged about him at the end of 2024. Recent news indicates that Han Weiguo has been internally dealt with and downgraded to the rank of a brigade general.
Han Weiguo has had connections with many high-ranking officials who have also fallen from grace. He and former Military Commission member Miao Hua both began their military careers in the 31st Group Army of the original Nanjing Military Region and worked together in the 12th Group Army. Han Weiguo also served alongside former Military Commission member Liu Zhenli in the army, and the two are from the same hometown of Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province.
Pundit Cai Shenkun revealed on the X platform on February 23, 2026, that 70-year-old General Han Weiguo was internally dealt with before the Chinese New Year, being demoted to a positive brigade rank.
Cai Shenkun also mentioned that only a small number of senior military leaders are expelled from the party, removed from the military, and transferred for judicial military trial. In most cases where there are no major political issues, individuals are dealt with through demotion after confiscating some funds based on the specific circumstances. This general handling approach is also applied to party and government officials, such as the demotion of the Minister of the United Front Work Department, Liu Jianchao, to a positive department level, and the former State Councilor and Minister of Foreign Affairs Qin Gang (from deputy ministerial rank) demoted to a positive ministry level.
A year prior, on January 1, 2025, Cai Shenkun had previously indicated in his self-media program that the former Army Commander Han Weiguo was definitely in trouble. During the New Year tea party in Beijing on December 31, 2024, retired generals who made an appearance included: former commander of the Strategic Support Force and current Minister of Logistics of the Military Commission, Gao Jin; former commander of the Central Theater Command Yi Xiaoguang; former commander of the Armed Police Force Wang Ning; former Army Political Commissar Liu Lei; and former political commissar of the Central Theater Command Zhu Shengling. However, former Army Commander Han Weiguo was absent. Han Weiguo had worked alongside Liu Lei, and Yi Xiaoguang was his successor.
On December 28, 2024, Han Lianchao, the Vice Chairman of the Citizen Power, posted on the X platform, sharing insider information that the CCP Army Commander Han Weiguo was in trouble. The post included a picture with the caption: “Yesterday afternoon, immediately after the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference ended, former Army Commander (General) and current National Committee member and Deputy Director of the Proposal Committee, Han Weiguo was taken away on the spot, witnessed by all meeting attendees.”
Han Weiguo, a native of Jingxing County, Hebei Province, was born in January 1956 and held various positions in the army, including serving as the Chief of Staff of the 273rd Regiment of the 91st Division of the 31st Army in the Nanjing Military Region, Deputy Corps Commander of the 31st Army, Commander of the 12th Group Army in the Nanjing Military Region, and Deputy Commander of the Beijing Military Region, among others. He was promoted to the rank of Major General in July 2015. In February 2016, he became the first Commander of the newly established Central Theater Command, and in July 2017, he was promoted to the rank of General and served as the overall commander of the CCP’s 90th anniversary military parade; the following month, he was appointed as Army Commander. Han Weiguo retired in June 2021 and subsequently served as the Deputy Director of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National People’s Congress. In March 2023, he became a member of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference and Deputy Chairman of the Proposal Committee.
Han Weiguo and fallen commission members and political work department heads, Miao Hua, began their military careers in the 31st Group Army.
Miao Hua served as the Political Director and Commissar of the 91st Division of the 31st Army from June 1991 to August 1999. During this period, Han Weiguo served as the Commander and Deputy Division Commander of the 271st Regiment of the 91st Division. From August 1999 to July 2005, Miao Hua served as the Political Director of the 31st Army, while Han Weiguo held positions such as Deputy Chief of Staff and Chief of Staff.
From July 2005 to December 2010, Miao Hua served as the Political Commissar of the 12th Group Army in the Nanjing Military Region, while from April 2008 to December 2013, Han Weiguo served as the Commander of the 12th Group Army, during which they worked together for two years and eight months.
Han Weiguo and fallen commission member and Chief of Staff of the Joint Staff Department of the Military Commission, Liu Zhenli, also served together in the army. The two men are from the same province of Hebei, with Liu Zhenli hailing from Luancheng District in Shijiazhuang City and Han Weiguo from Jingxing County.
From August 2017 to June 2021, Han Weiguo served as the Army Commander, while Liu Zhenli held the position of Chief of the General Staff of the Army from December 2015 to June 2021, and the two worked together for nearly four years. Later, in June 2021, Liu Zhenli succeeded Han Weiguo as the Army Commander.
In recent years, the purge within the CCP’s military has escalated. After the arrests of CCP Military Commission Vice Chairman Zhang Youxia and Military Commission member Liu Zhenli, the number of active generals who have fallen from grace since the 20th National Congress has reached 15; additionally, 20 generals have “disappeared.”
Many of the aforementioned fallen generals have connections to the 31st Group Army and the original Nanjing Military Region.
Furthermore, Han Weiguo had interactions with Air Force Political Commissar General Guo Puxiao, who is rumored to be under investigation.
From February 2016 to August 2017, when Han Weiguo was the Commander of the Central Theater Command, Guo Puxiao served as the Deputy Political Commissar and Air Force Political Commissar of the Central Theater Command.
On November 26, 2025, the X platform account “Zhang” revealed that “Air Force Commander Chang Dingqiu, Political Commissar Guo Puxiao, Academy of Military Sciences President Yang Xuejun, Political Commissar Ling Huanxin, and newly appointed Army Political Commissar Chen Hui have all fallen.” This account had previously accurately leaked information about the investigation of former Military Commission Vice Chairman He Weidong, the investigation of Political Work Department Deputy Director He Hongjun, the investigation of Logistics Support Department Minister Zhang Lin, and the promotion of Zhang Shengmin to Vice Chairman of the Military Commission, among other high-level movements within the CCP military.
At the same time, mainland China’s Baidu Baike has deleted the entries of Air Force Commander Chang Dingqiu and Political Commissar Guo Puxiao.
Previously, rumors circulated about the troubles of General Wang Chunning, the Commander of the Armed Police and Political Commissar Zhang Hongbing, and their entries on Baidu Baike were also deleted. Wang Chunning was officially announced to have fallen from grace before the Fourth Plenary Session alongside He Weidong and eight other generals. Zhang Hongbing was removed from his position as a national People’s Congress representative on December 27, 2025.