Beijing is set to hold a military parade, which has brought international attention to the issues of corruption and infighting within the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) military. The number of members in the 20th Military Commission of the CCP has decreased from seven to four, creating a power vacuum unseen since the era of Mao Zedong. Experts have pointed out that the CCP’s military is experiencing severe internal turmoil, casting a shadow over both the stability of the regime and military operations.
According to a report by Bloomberg on August 27, since Xi Jinping came to power in 2012, 14 high-ranking military officials appointed by him have either been investigated or disappeared, accounting for a high 17.7% of the total. In comparison, during the reigns of Jiang Zemin and Hu Jintao, none of the officials they promoted were investigated.
Previously, independent commentator Du Zheng wrote in the Taiwanese media “Up Media” on August 23, that since Xi Jinping took office, 79 generals have been promoted. This includes 10 officials who were officially removed from their positions and an additional 16 individuals who have been rumored to be involved in scandals, totaling 26 people, constituting over 30% of the total. Furthermore, there have been reports of retired generals, such as former Army Commander Han Weiguo, former Logistics Support Minister of the Military Commission Zhao Keshi, and former Political Commissar of the National Defense University Liu Yazhou, who have faced secret convictions.
The CCP touts itself as the party that commands the gun, but former CCP leader Mao Zedong emphasized that “political power grows out of the barrel of a gun.” Bloomberg points out that this indicates that the Central Military Commission holds the key to controlling China’s power. The current Central Military Commission under Xi Jinping’s third term since the end of 2022 has decreased from seven to four members, marking the highest vacancy rate in the Military Commission since the era of Mao Zedong.
The current Central Military Commission is composed of Chairman Xi Jinping, Vice Chairman Zhang Youxia, and two other members, Zhang Shengmin and Liu Zhenli. The three members who have been removed are Li Shangfu, Miao Hua, and He Weidong.
Li Shangfu was the first high-ranking CCP official to be sanctioned by the United States. Xi personally promoted him to be the Minister of National Defense, but Li was removed from his position after only five months in August 2023, making him the shortest-serving Minister of National Defense in the CCP’s 76-year history.
Miao Hua was a political commissar in the military whom Xi personally promoted and valued, but he was officially removed from his position on November 28 last year. Miao Hua became another top political commissar in the military to fall from grace after the former Director of the Political Work Department of the Military Commission, Zhang Yang, committed suicide due to serious corruption charges.
He Weidong was one of the Vice Chairmen of the Central Military Commission promoted by Xi Jinping, but he has been missing since March 11 this year, with foreign media sources reporting that he has been removed from his position.
Bloomberg reports that next week Xi Jinping will attend the military parade in Beijing, where observers will not only focus on new weapons that could be used to threaten Taiwan and challenge the military dominance of the United States but also look for clues on whether Xi trusts his generals enough to launch a war. However, the widespread purge within the CCP’s military has raised doubts about its military readiness. This has led to speculation about whether all of this reflects Xi Jinping’s political strength or his weakness.
Citing scholar James Char from Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, the continued purging of high-ranking military officials indicates internal turmoil, which is bound to bring negative impacts.
Former Discipline Inspection Commission official Wang Youqun wrote in Epoch Times on August 26 that the CCP is drumming up momentum for the September 3 military parade in 2025 to showcase to the world “how powerful my army is.” However, beneath the surface glamour and excitement, the CCP’s military is in turmoil, raising doubts among people with conscience and common sense. This begs the question: What is happening with the CCP’s military?
Wang Youqun noted that the current Central Military Commission has three out of seven seats vacant, a rare occurrence in the 49 years since the end of the Cultural Revolution. This indicates a major problem at the highest level of the CCP’s military command.
Bloomberg believes that Xi Jinping has “initiated” the military purge. However, independent commentator Du Zheng wrote in the Taiwanese media “Up Media” on August 23 that Xi’s two successive office directors of the Military Commission, Zhong Shaojun and Fang Yongxiang, were successively transferred from their core positions, and the Political Work Department of the Military Commission, a critical department, was also cleaned up. Additionally, Xi’s trusted soldiers from the 31st Group Army stationed in Fujian Province have encountered successive troubles. This makes it hard to believe that this is the result of Xi’s so-called “self-revolution,” but rather looks more like Xi is being “deposed and replaced.”