The Chief of Staff of the People’s Liberation Army Navy of the Chinese Communist Party, Li Hanjun, was dismissed from his position as a National People’s Congress deputy back in June. It was officially disclosed for the first time yesterday (August 20th) that Li Hanjun was dismissed from his NPC position due to “serious violations of discipline and law.” The Chinese Communist Party’s military has been experiencing continued upheaval in the past couple of years, with the recent rounds of purges being linked to the downfall of Xi Jinping’s confidant Miao Hua.
According to the news from the Chinese National People’s Congress website, the official bulletin issued by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress in August revealed for the first time that the former Chief of Staff of the Navy, Li Hanjun, was “suspected of serious violations of discipline and law.” On May 6th of this year, the Navy’s military representatives assembly decided to remove Li Hanjun from his position as a National People’s Congress deputy.
On June 27th, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress of the Chinese Communist Party had previously announced the removal of Li Hanjun from his NPC position, but this is the first time that the reasons for his dismissal, “suspected of serious violations of discipline and law,” have been disclosed.
Public records indicate that Li Hanjun, born in October 1965 in Zhoushan, Zhejiang Province, has had a long career in the Navy. He was promoted to the rank of Rear Admiral in 2014 and has held positions such as Deputy Director of the Reform and Organization Office of the Central Military Commission, Deputy Minister of Training and Administration Department of the Central Military Commission, and Dean of the Naval Command College. In April 2024, Li Hanjun attended a public event in the capacity of Chief of Staff of the Navy.
Commentator Zhou Xiaohui had previously written on Epoch Times that Li Hanjun’s career advancement should have had some connection to the recently fallen former Political Work Department Director of the Military Commission, Miao Hua. Miao Hua, who came from the 31st Army of Xi Jinping’s close circle, had a close relationship with Xi and his career advancement was likely supported by Xi. He served as the Navy’s political commissar from December 2014 to August 2017, and then became the Director of the Political Department of the Central Military Commission in August 2017.
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With high-ranking military officials and executives under investigation since 2023, there has been a continuous purge within the CCP’s military. Among the 7 seats responsible for leading the military on the Central Military Commission, there are now effectively 3 vacancies due to some members being arrested or missing.
Apart from Li Shangfu and Miao Hua, Vice Chairman of the CCP Military Commission, He Weidong, has also encountered trouble and his whereabouts remain unknown to this day.
The Chinese Communist Party’s Navy has been a focal point of this wave of purges. On July 31st this year, the Ministry of National Defense of the Chinese Communist Party held a reception at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing to celebrate Army Day. According to reports from Hong Kong media, compared to the previous year’s reception, this year’s main table was missing several active-duty generals, including Navy Commander Hu Zhongming and Political Commissar Yuan Huazhi.
Yuan Huazhi had previously been rumored to encounter a problem, as he was absent from the promotion ceremony to the rank of general of the Central Military Commission at the end of last year.
Rumors surrounding Hu Zhongming being revoked have also circulated. On June 21st this year, former PLA Navy officer Yao Cheng disclosed on the social platform X that according to an internal source in the Navy, Navy Commander Hu Zhongming was dismissed, and Deputy Navy Commander Cui Yuzhong would succeed him. However, this information has yet to be confirmed.
Many analysts believe that the recent series of purgings among the top leadership of the CCP’s military is closely related to the downfall of Miao Hua.
Exiled liberal legal scholar Yuan Hongbing had once revealed that after Miao Hua was captured, he exposed a large number of high-ranking CCP military officers, causing panic within the party’s military ranks.