On September 21st, after the meeting of the Central Political Bureau of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) ended, it was reported that former Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission Zhang Yuxia and former Chief of the Joint Staff Department Liu Zhenli had been expelled from the Party and the military, with political conclusions drawn against them. Two days later, an editorial in a CCP military newspaper listed the political charges against Zhang and Liu, but did not mention the previously determined “undermining the Chairman’s responsibility system of the Military Commission,” sparking discussions. Experts believe that the issues listed against Zhang and Liu are problematic, and Xi Jinping has also erred in this matter.
According to the official CCP announcement, Zhang Yuxia and Liu Zhenli have been expelled from the CCP and the military for “deviating from the Party, crossing bottom lines, seriously violating political discipline and rules, engaging in factional activities disloyal and dishonest to the Party”; involved in serious crimes related to their duties, interweaving political and economic issues, corruption and dereliction of duty with a particularly huge amount of money involved; “providing assistance for others’ job promotions using their positions and accepting huge amounts of money”; “failing to fulfill the political responsibility of strictly governing the Party comprehensively”; “failing to discipline and manage their relatives and staff properly.”
On September 23rd, a CCP military newspaper published an article criticizing Zhang Yuxia and Liu Zhenli for “deviating from the Party, crossing bottom lines, seriously exacerbating issues that harm the Party’s absolute leadership over the military, and endanger the Party’s governance foundations” and “seriously impacting the political ideology foundation of the entire military, causing great damage to the political construction, political ecology, and combat power of the CCP military.”
The article stated that the handling of Zhang and Liu eliminates “significant political risks” for the CCP and its military.
After Zhang and Liu were removed from their posts in January this year, the military newspaper had criticized them using five “serious” qualifiers, including “seriously betraying the trust and responsibilities of the Party Central Committee and the Central Military Commission, seriously trampling and undermining the Chairman’s responsibility system of the Military Commission, seriously exacerbating issues that harm the Party’s absolute leadership over the military and endanger the Party’s governance foundations, seriously affecting the image and credibility of the Military Commission, seriously impacting the political foundation of unity and advancement of all military officers and soldiers…”
This issue sparked heated debates on social media platforms overseas.
A commentator named “Middle of the Road” posted the official reports of the Party’s expulsion of Zhang Yuxia and Liu Zhenli and the expulsion of 9 other generals, including He Weidong and Miao Hua, before the Fourth Plenary Session of the previous year. The post indicated, “Last year, 9 people, with a total of 34 charges, were dealt with in broad strokes. This year, Zhang Yuxia and Liu Zhenli, two people, have a total of 200 charges. The language is more severe. Perhaps this indicates that the top leadership is more angry at Zhang Yuxia.”
Netizens remarked, “Last time, no mention of forming factions, this time two people are accused of forming factions.” “First, frame someone, and then fabricate charges. Anyone who follows this process is guilty.” “Every time I have a question, when someone is promoted, there must have been a comprehensive evaluation and investigation. How could they reach this position and end up with hundreds of charges? They must have been promoted despite their issues.”
Another person pointed out, “The severe trampling and undermining of the Chairman’s responsibility system of the Military Commission is missing this time.”
Independent commentator Cai Shunkun told The Epoch Times that the authorities’ handling of Zhang Yuxia and Liu Zhenli using terms like “forming factions” and “intertwining political and economic problems” indicates that it is not merely an economic issue, but primarily a political problem. The political issues in this case are complex and intertwined.
Cai Shunkun explained that after the downfall of Li Shangfu, He Weidong, and Miao Hua, Xi Jinping did not trust veteran military leader Zhang Yuxia due to the conference after the CCP’s Twentieth Party Congress. So, He Weidong and Miao Hua were the first to come forward to deal with Zhang Yuxia, aiming to force him out of the
Military Commission. After a large number of generals loyal to Zhang Yuxia, like Li Shangfu, were taken down, Zhang Yuxia also fought back. He obtained a lot of evidence of corruption involving He Weidong and Miao Hua, presented this evidence to Xi Jinping, who had to take action. At the time, it was a kind of palace struggle, and Xi was extremely angry.
Cai Shunkun said that Xi Jinping could only consider Zhang Yuxia disloyal and undisciplined politically, including violating the Chairman’s responsibility system of the Military Commission, as mentioned in the early year’s military newspaper editorial. However, this time, the expulsion of Party and military membership did not explicitly cite the previous violation of the Chairman’s responsibility system.
“In essence, Xi believed that Zhang was disrespectful and disloyal to him, mainly due to this charge. Liu Zhenli was just collateral damage. Liu Zhenli comes from a grassroots background and was following Zhang Yuxia’s lead. However, Xi Jinping wanted to dismantle the entire Military Commission’s leadership, and Liu Zhenli was inevitably tied to Zhang Yuxia,” he said.
Cai Shunkun said that Xi Jinping had to work hard to find many charges against Zhang Yuxia, but now, the military newspaper no longer mentions Zhang Yuxia violating the Chairman’s responsibility system. Because it was Xi Jinping using his power to clean up the military, how could Zhang Yuxia have violated it? Xi could not explain this to the entire party and the military, so he found other charges against Zhang Yuxia, such as corruption and bribery, but these are not significant issues within the military.
Senior political commentator in the United States, Chen Pokong, said that the official accusations against Zhang Yuxia and Liu Zhenli are actually charges that Xi Jinping himself has also committed.
“For example, the accusation that Zhang Yuxia and Liu Zhenli have deviated from and are disloyal to the Party effectively means they are deviating from and disloyal to Xi. Losing the principle of Party loyalty is essentially losing loyalty to Xi. Claiming to have crossed bottom lines, seriously violated political discipline and rules, these are things that Xi Jinping frequently does. Saying that they engage in factional activities, Xi Jinping runs the Xi family’s army, there are factions such as the Fujian gang, Zhejiang gang, Tsinghua gang.”
Chen Pokong mentioned that the accusations of helping others get promoted using their positions, accepting large bribes; such as Ma Xingrui’s promotion, there are rumors that it benefited Peng Liyuan’s family; stating that Zhang and Liu failed to fulfill the political responsibility of strictly governing the Party comprehensively, but Xi Jinping let Zhang Gaoli off the hook for his involvement with tennis champion Peng Shuai, without investigation; accusing Zhang and Liu of not disciplining and managing their relatives and staff properly, but Xi Jinping’s cousin was reportedly gambling and money laundering in Australia, and various intelligence agencies and media have pointed out Xi’s family’s hidden wealth overseas and multiple luxurious properties.
According to the official announcement, based on relevant regulations such as the CCP Disciplinary Punishment Regulations, the Central Military Commission’s standing committee discussed and reported to the Central Political Bureau’s deliberation, resulting in the expulsion of Zhang Yuxia and Liu Zhenli from the CCP. Previously, the Central Military Commission had decided to expel Zhang Yuxia and Liu Zhenli from the military.
Some netizens asked, “What is the Central Military Commission’s standing committee, it’s the first time I’ve heard of it.”
Public information shows that according to the working rules of the Central Military Commission, the standing committee meets once a week, with attendance from the Chairman, Vice Chairman, and members of the Central Military Commission. Senior leaders of the Central Military Commission Office also attend the meeting.
Chen Pokong stated that after Li Shangfu, He Weidong, and Miao Hua fell from power, the Central Military Commission at the time consisted of Xi Jinping, Zhang Yuxia, Liu Zhenli, and Zhang Shengmin. Even if Zhang Shengmin was eventually pulled to Xi Jinping’s side, it was still a 2-2 situation. If the removal of Zhang Yuxia and Liu Zhenli was a decision of the Central Military Commission, even if Zhang Shengmin joined Xi Jinping later on, they were still in a 2-2 situation. If it was a decision of the Central Committee, with Liu Zhenli as a member and Zhang Yuxia as a Politburo member, even if both were excluded, did all the other Politburo members agree? Hence, this is selective targeting and implied very clearly that political issues preceded economic ones.
“Saying that someone is disloyal and dishonest? But Xi forced the former General Secretary Hu Jintao out of the venue, placing political elders under house arrest, can Xi still talk about loyalty and honesty to the Party? At the end of the day, this Communist Party, these charges might one day fall on Xi Jinping himself,” he stated.
Information obtained by The Epoch Times recently from several insiders within the system indicates that the purge of Zhang Yuxia has sparked strong discontent within the CCP and the military. The Central Military Commission had requested the military to openly express support for the decision, but many military units and soldiers refused to cooperate.
The total number of active Chinese military personnel is approximately 2 million. Chen Pokong remarked, “Zhang Yuxia and Liu Zhenli have commanded the military for decades, and have influenced many generals and officers, so there might be further waves of cleansing. Xi may not be good at many things, but he is adept at power struggles; he focuses all his energy on power struggles every day, just like Stalin, using secret police against the military, and using political power against guns. Xi now utterly detests the military.”
He mentioned that a large number of officers and soldiers will be targeted for purging, but many may not be aware of it yet because it is happening inadvertently. Those not yet affected may feel lucky, thinking they are safe, but eventually, they too will come under scrutiny.
“If officers and soldiers know that purges will eventually reach them and unite to resist, it could create a strong force that Xi Jinping cannot control,” Chen stated.
China expert Wang He also told The Epoch Times that the current issues within the CCP are not about an immediate explosion or revolution, but everyone is watching and waiting for the moment to come. Xi Jinping will never step down and must ensure reelection at the Twenty-First Congress. “Currently, the hearts of the Party, the military, and the people are all in turmoil; everyone is waiting to see Xi Jinping’s next move. The situation seems calm on the surface but is highly tense in reality. Various backroom games are being played internally.”