On October 31, 2025, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) army, which has been threatening Taiwan with force, is facing a severe internal crisis even before a major conflict has started. At the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th CCP Central Committee, a group of generals were openly dealt with, while some were absent or missing. A tally by the Epoch Times found that out of the 79 generals promoted under the leadership of CCP’s top leader Xi Jinping, about half have been officially ousted or dismissed, including around 36 individuals rumored to have fallen from grace.
Xi Jinping boosted the promotion of generals to consolidate military loyalty after taking office. A comparison between the promotions of generals under Jiang, Hu, and Xi reveals that Jiang promoted 79 generals, Hu promoted 45 generals, and Xi has promoted 79 generals so far.
Among the 79 generals promoted by Xi, five generals were publicly removed from their positions in 2023, including former Defense Ministers Wei Feng and Li Shangfu (Wei was the first commander of the Rocket Force). Other ousted generals include former Air Force Commander Ding Laihang, former Rocket Force Commanders Li Yuchao and Zhou Yaning.
Nine generals were expelled from the party and the military in October 2025, including Central Political Bureau member and Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission He Weidong, Military Commission Political Work Department former Executive Deputy Director Miao Hua, Military Commission Political Work Department former Deputy Director He Hongjun, former Executive Deputy Director of the Military Commission Joint Operations Command Center Wang Xiubin, former Commander of the Eastern Theater Command Lin Xiangyang, former Army Political Commissar Qin Shutong, former Navy Political Commissar Yuan Huazhi, former Rocket Force Commander Wang Houbin, and former Armed Police Commander Wang Chunning.
During the late October Fourth Plenary Session, a large number of military representatives were absent, but the names of those absent were not publicized by the official channels.
According to the CCTV news broadcast, out of the 42 Central Committee members serving in the 20th term, a total of 27 were absent, with an absence rate of up to 63%, including 22 generals.
In addition to the eight individuals officially removed from their positions (He Weidong, Miao Hua, He Hongjun, Wang Xiubin, Lin Xiangyang, Qin Shutong, Yuan Huazhi, Wang Chunning), 14 generals who are members of the Central Committee went “missing”, including Navy Commander Hu Zhongming, Northern Theater Command Commander Huang Ming, Eastern Theater Command Political Commissar Liu Qingsong, Secretary of the Military Commission Political and Legal Affairs Commission Wang Renhua, former commander of the Strategic Support Force Ju Qiansheng, Equipment Development Department of the Military Commission Minister Xu Xueqiang, Information Support Force Political Commissar Li Wei, Army Commander Li Qiaoming, Southern Theater Command Commander Wu Yanan, Western Theater Command Commander Wang Haijiang, Armed Police Force Political Commissar Zhang Hongbing, Rocket Force Political Commissar Xu Xisheng, former Rocket Force Political Commissar Xu Zhongbo, Central Theater Command Political Commissar Xu Deqing.
On October 25, the Political and Legal Affairs Commission of the CCP Central Committee updated the leadership column of the official website “China Zhong An Net”, showing that General Wang Renhua, Secretary of the Military Commission Political and Legal Affairs Commission, is no longer listed as a member of the Political and Legal Affairs Commission, confirming his fall from grace.
Former Commander of the Strategic Support Force Ju Qiansheng and former Rocket Force Political Commissar Xu Zhongbo were dismissed before reaching retirement age in 2023.
Generals who had fallen from grace earlier include former Southern Theater Command Political Commissar Wei Liang and former Guangzhou Military Region Commander Xu Fenlin, both of whom were reportedly demoted and retired in 2018 according to Hong Kong media Ming Pao.
Generals who have been rumored to have encountered trouble include Xu Qiling, Xiao Tianliang, Ma Xiaotian, Wang Jiasheng, Han Weiguo, and Qin Shengxiang, six active and retired generals.
Independent commentator Cai Shenkun, who has connections within the CCP system, recently revealed to the Epoch Times that Lt. Gen. Xu Qiling, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Central Military Commission Joint Staff Department and National Defense University President Lt. Gen. Xiao Tianliang have also fallen from grace.
Xu Qiling, a current member of the Central Committee, does not appear on the list of those absent at the Fourth Plenary Session.
After the Fourth Plenary Session of the CCP, former Chinese media person Zhao Lanjian revealed that former Air Force Commander Ma Xiaotian had “been arrested”.
In August of last year, there were rumors online that former Rocket Force Political Commissar General Wang Jiasheng and Major General Zhang Fengzhong, the head of the Political Work Department, were both being searched and their offices raided simultaneously. Major General Zhang Fengzhong’s fall from grace was confirmed during the Fourth Plenary Session.
Other retired generals who had been investigated earlier include former Army Commander Han Weiguo and former Navy Political Commissar Qin Shengxiang.
In summary, out of the 79 generals personally promoted by Xi Jinping, 14 have officially fallen from grace, 16 have various information confirming their troubles, and 6 are still rumored to be involved, with a total of 36 individuals “facing issues”, accounting for approximately 45.6%.
As of the 20th CCP National Congress, there were 41 active generals. Following their promotions, including Zhang Youxia, Miao Hua, Zhang Shengmin, Li Shangfu, Zheng He, He Weidong, Li Qiaoming, Li Fengbiao, Yang Xuejun, Xu Zhongbo, Guo Puxiao, Li Wei, Wang Chunning, Wang Xiubin, Xu Qiling, Liu Zhenli, Ju Qiansheng, Wang Haijiang, Lin Xiangyang, Dong Jun, Cheng Dingqiu, Xu Xueqiang, Liu Qingsong, Wu Yanan, Xu Deqing, Qin Shutong, Yuan Huazhi, Li Yuchao, Zhang Hongbing, Wang Qiang, Huang Ming, Zheng Xuan, Ling Huanxin, Wang Houbin, Xu Xisheng, Wang Wenquan, Hu Zhongming, Wang Renhua, Xiao Tianliang, He Hongjun, Chen Hui.
After the Congress, 27 of the generals encountered issues, with over half facing troubles. Among them, He Hongjun had the shortest tenure as a general, being promoted to the rank in July 2024 and dismissed from the Party and the military in October 2025.
Xi Jinping once declared he wouldn’t rule out the use of force for reunifying Taiwan, but with no war on the horizon, the entire leadership of the CCP military is currently experiencing a severe setback:
Out of the six generals serving in the 20th Central Military Commission, half of them have fallen from grace. The ousted include Military Commission Vice Chairman He Weidong, Military Commission member and Political Work Department Director of the Military Commission Miao Hua, and Military Commission member and Defense Minister Li Shangfu.
At the Central Military Commission Joint Operations Command Center, Executive Deputy Director Wang Xiubin was dismissed. The Executive Deputy Director is one of the major operational leaders of the military’s highest command center.
Across the various military branches: the Army Commander has faced issues; the Navy Commander and Political Commissar have both encountered troubles; the Rocket Force Commander and Political Commissar have both been involved in controversies again; the Armed Police Force Commander and Political Commissar have both faced troubles; the Information Support Force Political Commissar is also in trouble. Only the Air Force’s top officials remain unaffected.
Among the five major theater commands, the Eastern Theater Command Commander and Political Commissar have issues; the Southern Theater Command Commander has issues; the Western Theater Command Commander has issues; the Northern Theater Command Commander has issues; and the Central Theater Command Political Commissar Xu Deqing has issues, while Commander Wang Qiang was absent from this year’s National Day reception and did not serve as the overall commander for the September 3 parade, though he did make an appearance at the Fourth Plenary Session.
In other departments: Military Commission Political and Legal Affairs Commission Secretary Wang Renhua, Military Commission Political Work Department Executive Deputy Director He Hongjun have been publicly ousted, while Military Commission Joint Staff Department Deputy Chief of Staff Xu Qiling, National Defense University President Xiao Tianliang, and Military Commission Equipment Development Department Minister Xu Xueqiang have been reportedly embroiled in issues.
The Minister of National Defense and General Dong Jun, responsible for military diplomacy, was once involved in a case but is currently active. However, as he did not enter the Military Commission at the Fourth Plenary Session, his safety remains to be seen.
Commentator Li Linyi told the Epoch Times that some generals who are not members of the Central Committee or National People’s Congress representatives may have been missing all along. Where are they now? What has happened to them? Under the opaque governance system of the CCP, such questions may never have answers until the CCP disintegrates.
He noted that without a doubt, every member of the CCP military leadership is feeling insecure and anxious. In fact, the long-term safety of the currently active generals remains to be observed.
Yang Taiyuan, a special researcher at the CCP Research Magazine, recently wrote that the high-level CCP military has resolved the problem of vacant general positions due to ongoing issues by using an “acting” model. It remains to be seen whether the system of granting the rank of general in the PLA will return to the previous model of “promotion to Lieutenant General for 4 years, then to General for 2 years at combat unit levels.”
Former Senior Colonel and CCP Navy Staff Member Yao Cheng previously stated that nearly all of Xi Jinping’s trusted military personnel have been ousted. Although he still holds the position of Military Commission Chairman, he no longer has effective control.
As of 2025, no new generals have been promoted. Li Linyi believes that if new generals are promoted, one of the indicators of Xi’s control over the military will be whether their background is linked to Xi. However, it’s evident that the emerging young faction, which has no connection to Xi, poses uncertainties regarding their loyalty to him and his trust in them. This contributes to one of the biggest instabilities posed by the military to the CCP regime.