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On October 17, 2025, three days before the Fourth Plenum of the 20th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, the Ministry of National Defense of the CCP announced decisions regarding nine generals, sending shockwaves through the military. These nine generals were simultaneously expelled from the Party and the military, including Miao Hua, a member of the Central Military Commission and Director of the Political Work Department of the Military Commission.
Miao Hua was once referred to as the “Party Representative,” “Political Commissar,” “Organization Minister,” and “Propaganda Minister” of Xi Jinping in the military, holding significant power and influence. He had direct access to Xi Jinping and commanded the respect of high-ranking military leaders throughout the armed forces, making him a prominent figure with a promising future in the military.
Now, Miao Hua finds himself imprisoned, stripped of all glory and honor. Behind the high walls and iron bars, he struggles and suffers, a fall from grace that will be remembered for eternity.
So, what was the relationship between Miao Hua and Xi Jinping? How did Miao Hua fall to his current state? What wrongdoings did he commit?
On November 28, 2024, the spokesperson of the Ministry of National Defense of the CCP, Wu Qian, announced before reporters that Miao Hua, a member of the Central Military Commission and Director of the Political Work Department of the Military Commission, was suspected of serious disciplinary violations and had been suspended pending investigation by the central authorities.
This announcement immediately shocked the world. Why? There are three main reasons:
First, Miao Hua’s arrest was first disclosed overseas and then quickly confirmed domestically.
In November 2024, independent commentator residing in the United States, Cai Shenkun, posted on platform X: Member of the Central Military Commission, and Director of the Political Work Department Miao Hua was taken away for investigation on November 9.
Subsequently, the spokesperson of the Ministry of National Defense confirmed the accuracy of Cai Shenkun’s revelation.
Secondly, it is extremely rare for news of Miao Hua’s investigation to be disclosed by the Ministry of National Defense spokesperson.
Shortly after the 20th National Congress of the CCP, a group of senior CCP leaders, including members of the Central Military Commission and Ministers of National Defense like Li Shangfu and Wei Fenghe, as well as the Commander of the Rocket Force, Li Yuchao, were investigated and suspended.
Apart from Miao Hua, no other individual had their investigation announced by the spokesperson of the Ministry of National Defense.
Thirdly, Miao Hua held a special position as a close confidant among Xi’s inner circle.
Why was Miao Hua considered a close confidant of Xi Jinping?
During Xi’s 17 years and 5 months of work in Fujian, he had close ties with the 31st Group Army stationed in Fujian’s Xiamen. The headquarters of the 31st Group Army was located in Xiamen, Fujian.
From 1985 to 2002, Xi held various positions in Fujian, such as Vice Mayor of Xiamen, Secretary of the Ningde Prefectural Committee, Secretary of the Fuzhou Municipal Committee, Deputy Secretary of the Fujian Provincial Party Committee, and Governor of Fujian Province.
During this period, Xi also served as the Party Secretary of the Ningde Military District, the Party Secretary of the Fuzhou Military District, the First Political Commissar of the Fujian Provincial Anti-Aircraft Artillery Reserve Division, Director of the Fujian Provincial Defense Mobilization Committee, and Deputy Director of the Nanjing Military Region Defense Mobilization Committee, with his interactions heavily focused on the 31st Group Army.
Miao Hua was involved in political work in the 31st Group Army for a long time. During the 17 years from 1985 to 2002, when Xi Jinping and Miao Hua were both in Fujian, their paths crossed on numerous occasions.
In 2012, when Xi Jinping became the Chairman of the Central Military Commission, many senior officers from the 31st Group Army received promotions and trust from Xi, with Miao Hua being one of those highly esteemed by Xi.
In December 2014, Xi promoted Miao Hua, who had long served in the Army, to the position of Political Commissar of the Navy. Such cross-service promotions were rare. On July 31, 2015, Xi bestowed the rank of Admiral on Miao Hua. At that time, Miao Hua had been in his current position for less than two years, and had been promoted to Vice Admiral in less than four years, a notably rapid advancement.
In August 2017, Director Zhang Yang of the Political Work Department of the Military Commission was under investigation related to the cases of Xu Caihou and Guo Boxiong.
The position of Director of the Political Work Department of the Military Commission is crucial for Xi Jinping’s control over the military. After careful consideration, Xi selected Miao Hua to assume this role.
In October of the same year, during the 19th National Congress of the CCP, Xi promoted Miao Hua to a member of the Central Military Commission. At the 20th National Congress of the CCP in 2022, Xi allowed Miao Hua to continue serving as a member of the Central Military Commission and as Director of the Political Work Department of the Military Commission.
From August 2017 to November 2024, for over seven years, Miao Hua was Xi’s most important aide in promoting and appointing senior military leaders and managing the “political consciences” of the entire army.
If it is said that the first confidant of Xi Jinping in the military was Huang Wei, the member of the Politburo of the CCP and Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission, then Miao Hua was the second confidant. If Huang Wei was Xi’s left-hand man, then Miao Hua was his right-hand man in the military.
Legal expert Yuan Hongbing, who resides in Australia, revealed to “Epoch Times” that according to insider sources within the CCP system, on the first day of his detention and review, Miao Hua lost control of his mental state, staying awake all night and confessing frantically. Initially, he implicated over 80 military personnel. Later, with the cooperation of three secretaries, he implicated up to 1,300 military personnel, including nearly a hundred high-ranking officers of the rank of general. Many of these officers were promoted by Xi Jinping himself or his confidants.
How could Miao Hua implicate so many people?
During his seven years as a member of the Central Military Commission and Director of the Political Work Department of the Military Commission, Miao Hua acted as the “Organization Minister” responsible for selecting and promoting senior military officers across the entire army.
These senior military officers included the 15 departments of the Central Military Commission, the Navy, Army, Air Force, Rocket Force, Strategic Support Force, People’s Armed Police Force, the five Theater Commands, and military and political high-ranking officials of military academies. Regarding promotions in military ranks, this encompassed all Brigadier Generals, Major Generals, and Lieutenant Generals.
During these seven years, Miao Hua selected and promoted a total of 54 individuals to the rank of general.
He promoted even more individuals to the ranks of Major General and Brigadier General. For example, in 2019, the Army saw 71 individuals promoted to Brigadier General and 12 to Major General; the Navy promoted 36 to Brigadier General and 13 to Major General; the Air Force promoted 49 to Brigadier General and 5 to Major General; the Armed Police Force promoted 45 to Brigadier General and 4 to Major General. Just in these four branches, a total of 201 individuals were promoted to Brigadier General and 34 to Major General in a year.
Anyone in the army aspiring to rise to the ranks of Brigadier General, Major General, or General had to pass through Miao Hua’s evaluations first before being recommended to Xi Jinping.
Due to Miao Hua’s status as a close confidant within Xi’s inner circle, he could also recommend his former subordinates to Xi.
For example, following the scandal in the Rocket Force, the new Commander of the Rocket Force, Wang Houbin, was a former subordinate of Miao Hua when he served as the Political Commissar of the Navy. Similarly, the Commander of the Eastern Theater Command, Lin Xiangyang, and Huang Wei Dong, a member of the Politburo and Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission, were all former subordinates of Miao Hua during his time in the 31st Group Army.
During Jiang Zemin’s rule or eminence, the unwritten rule of promotion went as follows: “If you don’t run and deliver, stay put; if you run and deliver, defer for a while; if you run and deliver often, you get promoted.” Buying and selling positions became a prevailing trend within the military. Many generals at that time had bought their positions at a high price.
After Xi came to power, the fundamental reasons that led to corruption in the military were not fundamentally addressed. Buying positions merely became more covert.
As the “Organization Minister” of the military, Miao Hua was in a critical position concerning promotions of military officers, making him the prime target for many officers seeking promotions to use various forms of bribery.
It is no surprise that Miao Hua’s downfall led to the implication of dozens, if not hundreds, of Generals, Major Generals, and Brigadier Generals.
In March 2025, Miao Hua was dismissed from his position as a representative member of the National People’s Congress by the Military Representatives Conference of the Political Work Department of the Military Commission due to allegations of serious disciplinary violations. By the end of May, the official website of the Ministry of National Defense of the CCP removed Miao Hua from the list of members of the Central Military Commission. This indicated that Miao Hua had been relieved of his position as a member of the Central Military Commission of the CCP. On June 27, he was removed as a member of the State Military Commission.
In July 2025, the “Liberation Army Daily” reported that the Central Military Commission recently issued provisions entitled “Comprehensively Cleanse the Negative Influence and Reshape the Political Cadres Image and Prestige.”
Although these provisions did not explicitly mention whose “negative influence” was to be “comprehensively cleansed,” it was implied that it included the negative influence of Miao Hua in order to rebuild the image and prestige of political cadres.
So, what wrongdoings did Miao Hua commit? What negative influence did Miao Hua have?
In July 2025, mainland Chinese media published an article directly criticizing Miao Hua titled “Eliminating the Negative Effects of Miao Hua, Political Cadres Need a Radically Self-reforming Revolution.”
This article came from the WeChat public account “Huashan Qiong Sword,” organized by the China Military Cultural Forum. The China Military Cultural Forum was founded by the China Military Cultural Research Association, which was established in February 2014 with the approval of the Central Military Commission of the CCP. Its supervisory unit at that time was the General Political Department of the CCP, which is now the Political Work Department of the Military Commission.
Therefore, this article carried significant weight. It bluntly called for the “elimination of the negative effects of Miao Hua” and should have come from the high-ranking officials of the CCP military.
The article sharply criticized Miao Hua for his “four crimes.”
It stated that Miao Hua was two-faced, presenting one image in public while scheming in secret, advocating “absolute loyalty” on the surface but forming cliques and groups in private.
The article accused Miao Hua of serious violations of discipline, treating work as a “trading trick,” using his position for personal gain, favoring cronies, and excluding dissidents when selecting and promoting officials.
It claimed that Miao Hua, who flaunted his “impartiality and selflessness,” cultivated a personal power base by forming cliques and factions among senior military ranks in secret.
The article also accused Miao Hua of treating work as “putty,” freely manipulating it, using his power as a “personal tool,” engaging in power and money transactions, openly selling official titles at a price!
Xi Jinping painstakingly selected Miao Hua to oversee the ideological and political work within the military, yet Miao Hua, like his predecessor, continued the practice of corruption and malfeasance.
As goes the top, so goes the bottom. If corruption prevails at the highest levels of the CCP military, one can only imagine the situation within the lower ranks. In such a climate of rampant corruption, the combat readiness of the military is undoubtedly compromised.
Well, that’s all for today’s show. Thank you for watching, goodbye.