On February 26, the 21st meeting of the 14th National People’s Congress Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party came to a close in Beijing. The meeting announced the dismissal of the qualifications of 19 national People’s Congress deputies, including 9 military generals. Prior to this, Central Military Commission Vice Chairman Zhang Youxia, who had been officially reported to be under investigation, was not included in the list of dismissals.
The dismissed military representatives this time involve the navy, air force, army, and information support units, covering both the political commissar system and the operational system. Multiple lines within the military simultaneously had their representative qualifications revoked. An insider close to the Chinese Communist Party’s military system, identified as Tian Hongjian, revealed to Dajiyuan that the list of dismissals from the National People’s Congress holds significant symbolic implications.
He stated, “Multiple generals have had their representative qualifications removed, covering a wide range, with people being taken down from both the political and operational systems. This is not a localized issue. I see their real challenge lies in how to handle Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli.”
Previously, Central Military Commission Vice Chairman Zhang Youxia had been officially reported to be under investigation, but his National People’s Congress representative qualification was not announced as dismissed. Observers have noticed that in recent meetings, the National People’s Congress Standing Committee did not include Zhang Youxia in the dismissal process.
Tian Hongjian commented that there is significant internal disagreement within the highest decision-making levels, and the National People’s Congress procedure has become a crucial juncture, making it difficult to reach a consensus before the two meetings. He said, “Currently, there is immense pressure among the top leadership, with the Zhang Youxia case becoming a hot potato. How do you think they should handle it? Resistance from grassroots military officers is beginning to push back, creating reverse pressure. Orders within the military are not being smoothly carried out, and routine activities such as military inspections have almost come to a halt. The dismissal of the generals from their National People’s Congress representative qualifications were arranged prior to Zhang Youxia, as a case where there was no internal dissent.”
In the past month, the Chinese Communist Party’s National People’s Congress Standing Committee has dismissed the representative qualifications of several party and government officials in two meetings. However, the cases of Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli have not progressed to the dismissal process.
Liu Gan, a system insider familiar with Beijing’s military and political structure, told Dajiyuan that authorities have shown divergent approaches in handling the cases of Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli, a situation that is rare. He stated, “Since the announcement on January 24 to take down Zhang and Liu, given it was categorized as a ‘Central decision,’ it should have concurrently been submitted to the National People’s Congress for the revocation of their representative qualifications according to convention. However, there have been asynchronous actions at the level of the Political Bureau Standing Committee, with the National People’s Congress Standing Committee not moving forward with the process as usual. The fact that Zhang Youxia was not included in the dismissal list indicates that an internal unified approach to handling the situation has not yet been achieved.”
According to Chinese official media reports and public information, Zhang Youxia has held key positions in the military system for a long time and is currently the Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission. Liu Zhenli is a current member of the Military Commission and the Chief of Staff of the Joint Staff Department. Both are senior active-duty officers, ranking only below Chairman Xi Jinping in the military hierarchy.
Cai Ming, a former researcher with the Chinese Communist Party’s National People’s Congress Legal Work Committee, stated that the National People’s Congress Standing Committee’s dismissal of military representatives is a procedural measure that usually progresses collaboratively with the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, the Military Commission for Discipline Inspection, and the supervision system. He said, “Within the Chinese Communist Party system, the National People’s Congress primarily plays the role of executing procedures. Once the disciplinary inspection department initiates a case and makes a determination on violations of discipline and law, handling National People’s Congress representative qualifications generally proceeds simultaneously, which is a characteristic of the Chinese Communist Party system.”
He further noted, “The dismissal of several generals this time indicates that the purges have now reached the core of the military. However, the exclusion of Zhang and Liu from the list shows that multiple factions within the Party are still in contention.”
Liu Gan, an insider within the Chinese Communist Party system, further analyzed that this round of high-level military purges can generally be divided into four stages, lasting approximately two years: “The first stage was the upheaval in the Rocket Force in 2023, with numerous high-ranking officials being taken down, involving equipment and missile systems, with the core focus on control rights and trust structures within strategic branches. The second stage in 2024 involved adjustments to equipment and information systems, the establishment of the information support units, the dismantling of the original system, and the reorganization of technical and command structures. The third stage in 2025 extended the purge to the theater and political commissar systems, covering the navy, air force, army, and political work systems, with the rectification scope reaching the command and political chain. The fourth stage involves the military commission level power play, currently showing no signs of stagnation.”
Liu Gan stated, “Currently, the internal order within the military is being disrupted. If the complete operational system is to be restored, it will require at least five to seven years.”
He believes that under the highly centralized command system of the Chinese Communist Party, political loyalty is prioritized over professional capability, and the frequent purges of top officials result in repeated restructuring of the command system. Lower-level military officers are becoming hesitant about upper-level decisions, leading to fluctuations in military morale. “If there is mutual mistrust within the organization, the stability of the operational system becomes very challenging. It is not just a simple anti-corruption campaign but the system itself is eroding the military’s professional capabilities,” he added.