On the eve of the Third Plenary Session, the leader of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) took a series of measures to strengthen control over the military. Recently, former Minister of National Defense, Wei Fenghe, and former Minister of Defense, Li Shangfu, were investigated and placed under review on the same day. In two announcements, they were uncommonly described as “bribing,” “betraying,” and “disloyal,” signaling further purges.
The long-delayed CCP’s Third Plenary Session of the Twentieth Central Committee finally has news. The CCP announced that it will be held in Beijing from July 15 to 18, with the main theme of discussing reforms and advancing modernization issues. Almost all of Xi Jinping’s recent political moves have focused on controlling the military.
On June 27, the CCP Politburo decided to expel former members of the Central Military Commission and State Council, as well as former Minister of National Defense, Wei Fenghe, and Li Shangfu, and referred them to the military inspection agency for investigation and prosecution.
On the eve of the Third Plenary Session, CCP leader Xi Jinping dramatically took down two former Ministers of National Defense, unprecedented in CCP history. Especially Wei Fenghe, who was considered his confidant, being suddenly removed, came as a surprise to many.
Japanese media veteran familiar with China, Akio Yaita, told Epoch Times on June 28 that Xi Jinping’s move to take down two former Ministers of National Defense has made everyone in the CCP’s military “panic-stricken” and “trembling with fear.”
Xi Jinping became the CCP General Secretary on November 15, 2012. Just eight days later, he hastily promoted Wei Fenghe to General, breaking protocol and announcing to the world, “Wei Fenghe is my man.” Yaita believes that this current purge marks that “Xi’s former military confidants have all been eliminated.”
Political commentator Wang He told Epoch Times that Xi Jinping “wants to ensure nothing goes wrong at the Third Plenary Session,” making sure no dark horses emerge, no surprise attacks, or unexpected incidents. “Within the senior CCP generals, there are significant disagreements on Xi Jinping’s military policies, Taiwan, US strategies, among others.” Many are dissatisfied with Xi, and the dissatisfaction is severe.
Wang He believes that by taking down two former Ministers of National Defense simultaneously, it “indicates a significant issue: within the military, including those promoted by Xi Jinping, many are two-faced, causing instability in military morale, and Xi Jinping cannot gain full support.”
The CCP’s disclosure of the downfall of the two former Ministers of National Defense, Wei Fenghe and Li Shangfu, confirms long-standing rumors regarding Wei Fenghe’s downfall. However, this does not mean Xi Jinping’s purge of the military has ended. The announcements imply that Xi’s “political military governance” will continue.
In the notice regarding Li Shangfu, his crimes include seeking personal and others’ personnel interests, and giving money to others for illicit gains.
Yaita believes that “Li Shangfu’s possible bribe recipients aren’t many, but among them, there must be his superior, Zhang Youxia.” With Li Shangfu and Wei Fenghe’s downfall, Zhang Youxia is in danger; at least it’s a warning to him.
Zhang Youxia served as Minister of the General Equipment Department from November 2015 to August 2017. Li Shangfu served as Deputy Minister of the General Equipment Department from December 2014 before being transferred to Deputy Commander and Chief of Staff of the Strategic Support Force in January 2016. He then succeeded Zhang Youxia as Vice Chairman of the Military Commission in September 2017, taking over the role of Minister of the General Equipment Department.
From the description of Li Shangfu’s crimes, he likely bribed for his promotion. Looking at Li Shangfu’s background before his promotion, his superior at the time while in the General Equipment Department, who later became the Vice Chairman of the Military Commission, Zhang Youxia, is the most likely recipient of his bribe.
When Li Shangfu was arrested last September, rumors were already circulating about Zhang Youxia facing trouble, even mentioning “internal checks.”
On June 25, Zhang Youxia met with Saudi Arabia’s Defense Minister in Beijing. However, like Xu Caihou, his public appearances do not mean he is clear of issues.
Additionally, it’s noteworthy that Zhang Youxia, accompanying Xi Jinping in meeting with the visiting Pakistani Prime Minister, did not wear military uniform but opted for western attire, drawing attention and speculation.
Both the announcements about Wei Fenghe and Li Shangfu have a similar line stating, “Other serious disciplinary and legal issues discovered during the inspection and investigation.”
This description seems to convey the message that the cases involving both individuals are far from over and further investigation is required. In other words, their problems are more than just bribery and corruption.
The descriptions of their other offenses are generally similar, with the difference being that Li Shangfu is described as “betraying his original intentions and mission,” while Wei Fenghe is described as having “collapsed beliefs and shown disloyalty.”
Wang He remarked that the CCP’s strategic power, defense capabilities, which include missiles, aerospace, and the National Defense Science and Technology Commission, have all been embroiled in last year’s rocket army scandal. One significant issue is that the entire top-level and core aspects of the CCP military, national defense technology, military industry construction, and troop deployment have been controlled by the US. There are internal suspicions of leaks within the CCP.
In CCP’s official circles, bribery is not the issue, but “betrayal” and “disloyalty” towards Xi Jinping are the focal points. Such descriptions leave ample room for future actions.
Both Wei Fenghe and Li Shangfu were promoted to generals by Xi Jinping and personally appointed as Ministers of National Defense, hence regarded as part of Xi’s trusted circle. However, the question arises: Were they truly two-faced, betraying and disloyal, and which side did they lean towards after their downfall?
Earlier this year, Yuan Hongbing, a renowned scholar in Australia, disclosed exclusively to Epoch Times that two general officers, Ju Gansheng and Xu Zhongbo, who were rumored to be involved in the rocket army scandal, were let off the hook due to their active cooperation in implicating others. Those they implicated, including Jiang Mianheng involved in military industry, were revealed.
Yuan Hongbing stated that Jiang Mianheng and senior military leaders in the aerospace and rocket army sectors formed an alliance, engaging in economic corruption, power-money transactions, and politically attacking Xi Jinping’s governance incompetency in private non-organizational activities. What started as Xi’s “disloyalty” among his trusted circle has evolved into a significant event involving collusion with Jiang Zemin’s residual forces and Jiang Mianheng.
Yuan Hongbing mentioned that Xi Jinping suddenly came to realize that he was surrounded by two-faced individuals conspiring politically with Jiang Mianheng, including Li Shangfu, whom he personally promoted. This poses the biggest crisis and dilemma for Xi.
Several CCP generals involved in the rocket army scandal, including Li Shangfu, have connections to the Xichang or Jiuquan satellite launch centers. Li Shangfu worked at the Xichang Satellite Launch Center since 1982 for over twenty years, serving as Deputy Director and Director.
When Jiang Mianheng was Vice President of Chinese Academy of Sciences, he served as Deputy Commander-in-Chief of China’s manned space engineering and Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Shenzhou 5 mission, closely linked to the aerospace military-industrial system and deeply involved in the CCP’s aerospace military industry. Furthermore, the fallen Jiang faction’s former vice chairman of the CCP’s Central Military Commission, Guo Boxiong, previously supervised satellite and equipment.
On September 1, commentator Li Yanming had exclusively revealed online that Defense Minister Li Shangfu was involved in the rocket army case and was a key figure of Jiangxi’s Jiang Zemin gang, acting as a henchman for Jiang Mianheng in the military and deeply implicated in the rocket army and strategic support forces cases.
A week before the CCP announced the Third Plenary Session and the downfall of the two former Defense Ministers (June 17-19), Xi Jinping convened the “Central Military Commission Political Work Conference” in Yan’an, Shaanxi, providing “political guarantees” to implement his “political military construction strategy.”
Xi personally led a team to hold the meeting in the CCP’s “sacred revolutionary site” in Yan’an. He emphasized that just as the 10-year-old all-military political work conference held in Gutian, now convening in Yan’an is to ensure that the military’s guns always remain in the hands of those loyal and reliable to the party.
From December 28 to 29, 1929, the CCP held a meeting in Gutian Town, Shanghang County, Fujian Province, establishing the absolute principle of the “Party commands the gun” and consolidating Mao Zedong’s leadership position within the Red Fourth Army. This meeting is considered one of the important meetings in CCP history.
During the recent meeting in Yan’an, Xi demanded that military cadres “put aside their faces” and “expose their weaknesses.” This is interpreted as him emulating Mao Zedong’s launch of the rectification movement, sending a clear signal of severe rectification to the entire military, especially senior officials. The downfall of Li Shangfu and Wei Fenghe a week later is a clear demonstration of Xi showcasing the deterrent power of his “political military governance.”
Wang He stated that Xi Jinping needs to rectify the “two-faced individuals in his eyes, the anti-Xi forces; he must strike first, eliminating hidden dangers.”
On the other hand, Akio Yaita believes that although Xi Jinping is adept at simultaneous purges — arresting Xu Caihou, Guo Boxiong after the 18th National Congress, removing Fang Fenghui, Zhang Yang after the 19th National Congress, and now taking down Wei Fenghe and Li Shangfu post-20th Congress — the fact is that this anti-corruption campaign has completely failed.
Beijing Garrison, responsible for defending the capital, has always been highly valued by CCP leaders, ensuring appointment of trusted personnel.
On June 6, during the CCP’s Party-army Work Conference held in Beijing, Beijing Garrison Political Commissar Zhu Jun presided over the meeting, making his first public appearance. It was only then that the public learned that there had been a change in the Political Commissar. Zhu Jun’s background is questionable, being possibly related to Xi.
Around Xi Jinping’s third term in 2020, there have been successive changes in Beijing Garrison’s Political Commissars and Commanders. In December 2019, Zhang Fandi replaced former Political Commissar Jiang Yong, and in July 2020, Fu Wenhua replaced Wang Chunning as Commander. Before the Third Plenary Session, there was another change in the Political Commissar, emphasizing “party-led armaments.”
Moreover, the Central Security Bureau, which serves as the personal bodyguard of Zhongnanhai, has been particularly valued by Xi Jinping, with frequent changes in bureau heads.
The Central Security Bureau holds significant power, responsible for safeguarding top-ranked CCP officials and monitoring and controlling them.
In December 2014, Ling Jihua, a former Director of the General Office, allied with Zhou Yongkang, was brought down, and in March the next year, Xi Jinping removed the former Central Security Bureau chief, Cao Qing, appointing Deputy Chief Wang Shaojun as the chief. In 2021, Xi again replaced Wang Shaojun, bringing in Zhou Hongxu, who was the Deputy Chief of Staff of the Northern Theater Command at that time. Though Wang Shaojun passed away on April 26 last year, the CCP only announced on July 24.
There are rumors that Wang Shaojun’s earlier support for Hu Jintao, which led to Hu Jintao being escorted out of the venue during the 20th Congress, is equivalent to participating in an anti-Xi coup, hence he was later arranged for assassination by the current Bureau chief. Wang Shaojun was considered to be a member of the former regime under Hu Jintao.
At that time, all of the Central Security Bureau’s personnel were re-selected from the special forces of the field army and now directly obey Xi’s confidant, the Director of the General Office, Li Zhanshu. Presently, the Central Security Bureau is under the control of Xi Jinping’s confidant, Cai Qi.
Wang He mentioned that there is talk surrounding Xi Jinping’s belief in certain prophecies, fearing a rocket army rebellion and, therefore, conducting successive large-scale purges.
Xi’s worry about prophecies comes from the ancient Chinese prophecy book, “Tui Bei Tu,” in which the 46th diagram’s verse states: “There is a soldier with a bow, claiming to be an old man. A golden sword lurking behind the gate in the east, a brave warrior enters the emperor’s palace through the back door.”
According to reliable information obtained by Epoch Times, Xi firmly believes in this prophecy and fears death. In the diagram with a person holding a bow and arrow, Xi believes it correlates with the rocket army, prompting him to detain and arrest them.
Furthermore, it is noteworthy that the character “Zhang” in Zhang Youxia has the “BOW” character as the left radical, making him a bow-holder, thus violating Xi’s taboos.