The Chinese Communist Party’s number two figure in the military, Zhang Youxia, has become the highest-ranking general to be purged since the crackdown on civilians during the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests. He and Liu Zhenli are also the first two Political Bureau members to be removed from office in the same term.
On Saturday, January 24th, the Chinese Ministry of National Defense issued a brief statement announcing that Zhang Youxia, a member of the central Politburo and Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission, and Liu Zhenli, a member of the Central Military Commission and Chief of Staff of the Joint Staff Department, are “suspected of serious violations of discipline and law,” and are under investigation.
Subsequently, the Chinese military’s official newspaper, the PLA Daily, published an editorial stating that Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli have “seriously undermined the responsibilities of the Chairman of the Military Commission.”
The Wall Street Journal reported that analysts pointed out that under the leadership of Xi Jinping, the turnover rate and scale of leadership changes within the Chinese military have been unprecedented since the Mao era, especially with regard to personnel changes within the Central Military Commission.
The current Military Commission, which began its term in 2022 with seven members, now has only two active members, apart from Xi Jinping himself as Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party’s Central Military Commission, with Zhang Shengmin as the only remaining Vice Chairman.
In October 2025, the Chinese Communist Party expelled nine senior military commanders on charges of corruption, including former Politburo member and Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission, He Weidong, and former Director of the Military Commission’s Political Work Department, Miao Hua.
Zhang Youxia has become the highest-ranking active-duty officer removed by Xi Jinping and the highest-ranking Chinese general to be purged since the Tiananmen Square incident in 1989.
According to the Wall Street Journal, this is the first time since 1989 that the Chinese Communist Party has removed two Politburo members during the same term.
Back then, Zhao Ziyang, the then General Secretary of the Central Military Commission and the top-ranked Vice Chairman, and Hu Qili were removed from the Politburo and Standing Committee for showing weak attitudes in dealing with student protests. At that time, the Chinese Communist Party brutally suppressed peaceful protesters with force.
Official disclosure documents reviewed by the Wall Street Journal show that over the past two and a half years, more than 50 senior military officers and defense industry executives have been investigated or dismissed.
The dismissed personnel include senior officers from the Chinese Army, Air Force, Navy, Strategic Missile Forces, and Armed Police Force, as well as commanders of major theater commands (including the command responsible for Taiwan).
Reporter Wei Lingling of the Wall Street Journal posted on social media platform X, saying, “This is far from over. Under the leadership of Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli, thousands of military officers were promoted to higher ranks, and now they realize they are the main targets of systematic purging. The cellphones of officials at all levels have been confiscated, and all units are on high alert.”