Recently, the Central Military Commission issued a document reiterating the need to “comprehensively eliminate the influence of harmful elements,” but this time without specifically naming who these harmful elements are, leading to speculation.
According to a report on the front page of the People’s Liberation Army Daily on the 21st, the recent document issued by the Central Military Commission involved several provisions regarding the “comprehensive elimination of the influence of harmful elements to reshape the political cadres’ image and reputation,” emphasizing the need for political cadres to strengthen political loyalty. The “provisions” cover 22 articles across 7 aspects.
In the early days of Xi Jinping’s leadership, a large number of generals, including former Vice Chairmen of the Central Military Commission Xu Caihou and Guo Boxiong, as well as the then Director of the Political Work Department of the Military Commission, Zhang Yang, were brought down. Starting from 2023, a corruption scandal erupted in the Rocket Force of the Communist Party, leading to the downfall of at least dozens of generals, including two former Ministers of Defense, Li Shangfu and Wei Feng.
Miao Hua, a member of the Central Military Commission and Director of the Political Work Department of the Central Military Commission, fell from grace at the end of November last year. Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission He Weidong has been “missing” since late March, rumored to have also been removed from office.
An article published by Radio France Internationale Chinese website on the 21st pointed out that continuously purging the military of generals under Xi Jinping’s rule raises doubts about the necessity of further “comprehensive elimination of harmful influences.” One question is whether this signifies that the extensive purges in the military in recent years have been merely symbolic. If so, where does Xi Jinping’s credibility and responsibility lie? Another question is, if it is admitted that the impact of the military purges has been limited and flawed, hence the need for “comprehensive elimination of harmful influences,” then who are these harmful elements being eliminated, and why the ambiguity?
The article also noted that during the consolidation of Xi Jinping’s power, the rhetoric of eliminating harmful elements became prevalent. This was evident in the downfall of Bo Xilai, Secretary of the Chongqing Municipal Committee, in the months leading up to the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, followed by the fall of former Political Bureau Standing Committee member Zhou Yongkang, former Director of the Central Committee’s General Office, Ling Jihua, and former Secretary of the Chongqing Municipal Committee, Sun Zhengcai. As remnants of the previous administration, authorities have repeatedly emphasized the need to eliminate their “residual poison” up until after the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party.
Within the Chinese military, the purging of harmful elements has previously targeted Vice Chairmen of the Central Military Commission Xu Caihou and Guo Boxiong. However, on May 24, 2020, then Vice Chairman of the Military Commission Zhang Youxia proposed at the military delegation of the two sessions to “comprehensively and thoroughly eradicate the harmful influences of Guo Boxiong, Xu Caihou, Fang Fenghui, and Zhang Yang,” marking the first time Fang Fenghui and Zhang Yang were included in the list of figures to be purged of harmful influences. Subsequently, there have been few mentions of purging or residual poison within the military.
An analysis by scholars, as quoted by Lianhe Zaobao, suggests that the resurgence of the rhetoric of comprehensively eliminating harmful influences indicates the possibility of significant cases within the military, primarily involving political and personnel selection issues.
Radio France Internationale’s analysis suggests that with the ongoing disappearance of Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission He Weidong for four months, the time for his official downfall may be nearing. By creating such intense public opinion around the downfall of a military leader personally appointed and dismissed by Xi Jinping, the issuance of a directive emphasizing political loyalty may hint at a larger upcoming storm.
Su Ziyun, Director of the Institute of Strategic and Resource Studies at the Taiwan Institute for National Defense Security, analyzed for Dajiyuan that the regulations issued by the Central Military Commission are related to the collapse of the military’s political work system, with Miao Hua’s downfall indicating that the individuals promoted by Xi are unreliable.
Hong Zijie, Director of the Institute for Political-Military Operations and Operational Concepts Research at the Taiwan Institute for National Defense Security, told Dajiyuan that the corruption of political commissars themselves could shake the foundation of the Chinese military, leading to a weakening of the effectiveness of the principle of “the Party commands the gun.”