In recent years, there have been a series of “disappearances” in the Chinese Communist political arena, with numerous high-ranking officials from the party, government, and military mysteriously “vanishing.” This is not just some small gossip but one of the most eye-catching phenomena in the Chinese Communist power circle today.
How many high-ranking officials have been “disappeared” in the past two years? What hidden secrets lie behind these disappearances? Today, based on public reports from domestic and foreign media, let’s discuss this sensitive topic.
Let’s start with two of the most famous high-ranking officials who have been “disappeared.”
One is former State Councilor and Foreign Minister Qin Gang. Since his last public appearance on June 25, 2023, Qin Gang has been successively removed from his positions as Foreign Minister and State Councilor, resigned as a national People’s Congress deputy, and Central Committee member. To this day, Qin Gang remains in a “disappeared” state.
There have been rumors that Qin Gang has passed away. Gao Zhikai, who claims to be a friend of Qin Gang and a former interpreter for Deng Xiaoping, said in an interview with foreign media, “You will never see him again.” Whether Qin Gang is alive or dead remains a mystery.
Another is Liu Yazhou, the son-in-law of former Chinese President Li Xiannian and a former Political Commissar at the National Defense University and Air Force General. According to reports from Hong Kong and foreign media, Liu Yazhou has been sentenced to life imprisonment by the Chinese authorities for serious corruption.
However, when was Liu Yazhou arrested? When was he expelled from the Party, stripped of his military rank, and what charges led to his sentence? The Chinese Communist Party has not released any information.
According to a report from the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection’s fourth plenary session, 92 middle-level cadres were investigated in 2024; however, the website of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection only disclosed 58 of them. Who are the 34 high-ranking officials that were not made public? Clearly, these 34 officials have all “disappeared.”
According to a report from the third plenary session of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, 87 middle-level cadres were investigated in 2023; however, the website of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection only disclosed 45 of them. Who are the 42 high-ranking officials not made public? These 42 officials have also “disappeared.”
In other words, a total of 76 high-ranking officials “disappeared” in 2023 and 2024.
In the past two years, many senior military officers of the Chinese Communist Party and executives of military-industrial companies have also “disappeared.”
In June 2024, the Chinese Communist Party announced that Wei Fenghe and Li Shangfu, former members of the Central Military Commission, State Councilors, and Ministers of National Defense, had been investigated, expelled from the Party, and referred to the judiciary. Since then, these two individuals have also “disappeared.”
In November 2024, the spokesperson for the Ministry of National Defense of the Chinese Communist Party announced that Miao Hua, a member of the Central Military Commission and Director of the Political Work Department of the General Staff, was under investigation for serious violations. As of now, Miao Hua is also in a “disappeared” state.
In 2023 and 2024, the Chinese Communist Party announced a group of senior military leaders who were disqualified as members of the National People’s Congress, including Lieutenant General Zhou Yaning, Lieutenant General Li Yuchao, and former Air Force Commander Ding Hanglai, as well as nine Major Generals.
These 15 senior military leaders were investigated for serious violations and were disqualified as members of the National People’s Congress. However, neither the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection nor the Military Discipline Inspection Commission issued any statements announcing their investigations. They are also in a “disappeared” state.
At the National People’s Congress in March 2025, four senior officials were absent: Yuan Huazhi, a National People’s Congress deputy and Navy Political Commissar; Wang Chunning, a National People’s Congress deputy and Commander of the Armed Police Force; Xu Dazhe, a Standing Committee member of the National People’s Congress and former Chairman of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation; and Luo Qi, a Standing Committee member of the National People’s Congress and Chief Engineer of China Nuclear Industry Corporation. These four high-ranking officials have all “disappeared.”
The disappearance of these high-ranking party, government, and military officials, as well as executives of state-owned giant military-industrial companies, is not something that can be deliberately downplayed by the Chinese Communist Party to the point where everyone ignores it, but a matter of great significance to the future and destiny of the Chinese Communist Party.
Dr. Wang Youqun, a former member of the Central Politburo and Secretary of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, believes that the disappearances of these high-ranking party, government, and military executives indicate at least four points.
Most of the mentioned “disappeared” high-ranking officials were personally appointed and promoted by Xi Jinping.
Qin Gang was the youngest party and state leader promoted by Xi through special and rapid advancements.
Wei Fenghe was the first senior officer promoted by Xi Jinping to the rank of General after Xi became Chairman of the Central Military Commission, the first Commander of the Rocket Force established after the 2015 military reform, a member of the Central Military Commission personally appointed by Xi in 2017, and a State Councilor and Minister of National Defense personally appointed and promoted by Xi in 2018. It can be said that Wei Fenghe is the first in Xi’s “Xi Family Army” in the military.
Miao Hua is considered the “trusted confidant among confidants” in Xi’s military circle. After being personally appointed by Xi in 2017 as a member of the Central Military Commission and Director of the Political Work Department, Miao Hua became the key operator of Xi’s “political army-building,” the main assistant for Xi’s selection and appointment of senior military officers, and the “chief of staff in the political commissar system” monitoring the senior military officials. It is highly likely that Miao Hua is the top candidate for Xi’s potential appointment as a member of the Political Bureau of the Chinese Communist Party and Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission.
All other high-ranking party, government, and military officials mentioned above at the deputy ministerial level or higher must receive Xi’s approval.
As the highest leader of the Chinese Communist Party, Xi, according to the Regulations on Implementing the Responsibility System for Party Conduct and Integrity Building issued by the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party and the State Council, is the primary person responsible for party conduct and integrity building in the party, government, and military.
Many of these high-ranking party, government, and military officials personally promoted by Xi Jinping ran into trouble shortly after the 20th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party. According to the mentioned regulations, Xi bears the primary responsibility for failure to recognize character, improper personnel selection, misuse of personnel, and lack of oversight.
If these high-ranking party, government, and military officials were to be handled through normal case investigation procedures and each one publicly disclosed, Xi would face severe embarrassment. Furthermore, officials at all levels, from top to bottom, would scrutinize how Xi takes the lead in assuming the responsibilities as the primary person in charge of party conduct and integrity. This is something Xi is unwilling to confront.
Shortly after the 20th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party, the first high-ranking official to fall from grace was Foreign Minister Qin Gang. It is well known that Qin Gang is a confidant of Xi Jinping. Qin Gang’s downfall appeared to target him, but in reality, it was directed at Xi Jinping. This was a powerful counterattack by anti-Xi forces in the diplomatic system, leaving Xi in a very difficult situation.
Shortly after Qin Gang’s downfall, a major scandal erupted within the Rocket Force, quickly spreading to the Equipment Development Department of the Military Commission and further to state-owned giant military-industrial enterprises.
Zhang Youxia was the first Minister of the Equipment Development Department of the Military Commission established after the 2015 military reform. Prior to that, from 2012 to 2015, Zhang Youxia served as Minister of the General Equipment Department of the Military Commission. Li Shangfu succeeded Zhang Youxia as the second Minister of the Equipment Development Department of the Military Commission. Li Shangfu and other close associates of his in the Equipment Development Department previously served under Zhang Youxia.
Central Military Commission Chairman Xi Jinping targeted Li Shangfu, a former subordinate of Zhang Youxia, for the first operation. This internal struggle involved Xi and Zhang.
The power struggle between Xi and Zhang reached its peak in the second half of 2024, severely weakening Xi’s military authority. Xi’s close allies in the military were either transferred from key positions, such as his chief of staff and Director of the General Office of the Central Military Commission, Zhong Shaojun, or removed, such as Miao Hua, a member of the Central Military Commission and Director of the Political Work Department of the Military Commission, among others.
During Jiang Zemin’s tenure as Chairman of the Central Military Commission, or when Jiang Zemin’s confidants and members of the Political Bureau of the Chinese Communist Party and Vice Chairmen of the Central Military Commission, Guo Boxiong, and Xu Caihou, sidelined then Chairman of the Central Military Commission Hu Jintao, corruption within the Chinese Communist Party’s military was rampant.
Before his death, Xu Caihou told investigators that Guo Boxiong’s problems were much more severe than his. Liu Yuan, the son of Former Chinese President Liu Shaoqi and a senior officer in the Chinese Communist Party, also stated that the problems of Zhang Yang, the first Director of the Political Work Department of the Central Military Commission appointed by Xi after the 2015 military reform, were even more serious than those of Xu Caihou and Guo Boxiong.
How much money did Xu Caihou, Guo Boxiong, and Zhang Yang embezzle? The Chinese Communist Party dare not disclose.
Phoenix Weekly once reported the scene when investigators raided the basement of one of Xu Caihou’s luxury homes: there was over a ton of cash! The amount of various gold, silver, and jewelry items was countless. Eventually, it took more than a dozen military trucks to transport everything.
After the removal of “big tigers” such as Xu Caihou, Guo Boxiong, and Zhang Yang, a new group of military “big tigers” emerged, including Li Shangfu, Wei Fenghe, and Miao Hua. How much money did they embezzle? For grassroots officers and ordinary people, it could be astronomical figures.
The Chinese Communist Party is concerned that if the truth about the corruption of these military “big tigers” is revealed, it could shock ordinary people, especially grassroots officers. It could even lead to a military rebellion.
The Chinese Communist Party repeatedly claims to “represent the fundamental interests of the broadest Chinese people” and promotes “full-process democracy.”
A basic requirement of democracy is to provide the Chinese people with the right to know.
Taking the Rocket Force scandal as an example. What is the Rocket Force? The Rocket Force is a new branch of the military established after Xi’s 2015 military reform, specializing in strategic missiles that can carry nuclear warheads, including medium-range, long-range, and intercontinental missiles. It is considered the ace military force that Xi is preparing to reunify Taiwan by force and deter the United States, referred to by Xi as “the core strategic force of China’s strategic deterrence, the strategic support for China’s great power status, and the cornerstone for safeguarding national security.”
However, the first, second, and third Commanders of the Rocket Force have all been involved in serious corruption. If the top is corrupt, the subordinates are likely to follow suit. How many senior corrupt officials are there from top to bottom in the Rocket Force?
How much blood and sweat money from Chinese taxpayers have these corrupt officials embezzled? How much have they squandered? Have they sold the secrets of the Rocket Force to foreign countries? After years of Xi’s anti-corruption campaign and crackdown on corruption, why do these three serious corrupt officials emerge one after another? How were these three serious corrupt officials elected as members of the National People’s Congress? Whom do they represent?
These are significant political and legal issues directly related to the Chinese people.
However, the Chinese Communist Party has concealed all these issues behind closed doors, almost entirely hiding the truth from the Chinese people. This is not “full-process democracy” but “keeping the entire Chinese people in the dark” and “remaining in the dark throughout the entire process.”
Why?
Because the Chinese Communist Party does not truly represent the fundamental interests of the Chinese people; instead, it represents the narrow self-interests of the Chinese Communist power group. To safeguard their private interests, the Chinese Communist Party deceives and withholds information from the Chinese people. They withhold the truth that the Chinese people want to know.
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