The expanded meeting of the CCP Central Military Commission Discipline Inspection Commission was held on Friday (16th), with only two generals present. Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission Zhang Shengmin’s speech at the meeting was criticized for bearing a high resemblance to the speech made by the former Vice Chairman of the Military Commission, He Weidong, who has since been removed from office.
According to X account “China Personnel Observation”, the Central Military Commission Discipline Inspection Commission expanded meeting had only two generals in attendance: Zhang Shengmin on the platform and Central Theater Command Commander Han Shengyan below the platform. The rest were all major generals. In contrast, the expanded meeting of the Central Military Commission Discipline Inspection Commission held in January 2025 had 14 generals present, including He Weidong and Zhang Shengmin on the platform, and others below the platform.
This means that of the 14 generals who attended the meeting in January 2025, only Zhang Shengmin attended the January 2026 meeting. The other general present at this year’s meeting, Han Shengyan, was promoted to general in December 2025.
It is worth noting that in December 2025, the CCP military promoted Yang Zhibin, the commander of the Eastern Theater Command, and Han Shengyan, the commander of the Central Theater Command, to the rank of general. At that time, only four generals including Zhang Yuxia, Zhang Shengmin, Liu Zhenli, and Dong Jun were present. This time, at the expanded meeting of the Military Commission Discipline Inspection Commission, only Zhang Shengmin and Han Shengyan attended.
On January 10, 2025, then Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission He Weidong attended the expanded meeting of the Military Commission Discipline Inspection Committee and delivered a speech. At that time, Zhang Shengmin was a member of the Central Military Commission and Secretary of the Military Commission Discipline Inspection Commission. He chaired the meeting and gave a work report. He Weidong disappeared from public view two months later, sparking rumors that he was under investigation. Then on October 17, 2025, the CCP Ministry of National Defense announced that He Weidong and nine other generals had been expelled from the party and the military.
On October 28, 2025, the CCP National People’s Congress Standing Committee appointed Zhang Shengmin as the Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission, removing He Weidong from the position of Vice Chairman of the Military Commission. Zhang Shengmin currently also serves as the Secretary of the Military Commission Discipline Inspection Commission. His failure to replace He Weidong in the Politburo has sparked speculation.
According to the CCP official media, Zhang Shengmin claimed at the Friday meeting that the military’s anti-corruption efforts in the past year have “achieved remarkable results”. This year, they aim to “deepen political rectification” to a higher standard, and so on.
Political commentator Li Lin told Epoch Times that comparing Zhang Shengmin’s speech this time with He Weidong’s speech last year, the content is unusually highly similar, not only in terms of template issues of official speeches but also suggesting plagiarism.
Li Lin noted that the main content of the two official reports is remarkably similar in structure, terminology, core statements, content arrangement, and overall tone (over 80%). If the names, dates, and highly specific statements are removed, the core paragraphs overlap more closely to 95%. Moreover, these words are essentially official clichés and empty talk, mentioning Xi Jinping Thought as guidance, “establishing two safeguards”, implementing the system of the Chairman of the Military Commission’s accountability, “deepening political rectification”, striving to achieve the centennial goal of building the military, and promoting incorruptibility.
Li Lin stated that it seems that after experiencing a major internal turmoil in the military, as the cleaning-up process continues, with instability in people’s minds, not only the CCP’s party-state system but also military cadres are in a state of stagnation. It is possible that secretaries simply randomly copied He Weidong’s content for Zhang Shengmin to read. Even if it’s not intentional plagiarism, the solidification of this speech template indicates that the ecology of soldiers and officers under the autocratic system of the CCP has reached a lifeless level.