The former Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission of the Chinese Communist Party, Xu Qiliang, passed away suddenly recently, and many believe he may have died as a result of power struggles. Xu’s funeral was held in Beijing on the morning of June 8th, with seven members of the Politburo Standing Committee of the CCP, including Xi Jinping, all in attendance. The current Vice Chairman of the Military Commission, He Waidong, who had been missing for a long time, was the only Politburo member who did not send a floral wreath.
According to Xinhua News Agency, Xi Jinping and the other seven members of the Politburo Standing Committee appeared at the funeral hall in Babaoshan Cemetery in Beijing to pay their respects to Xu Qiliang, whose body was later cremated.
Xinhua News Agency reported that Xu Qiliang passed away due to illness at noon on June 2nd in Beijing at the age of 75. However, on May 31st, overseas users on the social platform X had revealed that news of Xu Qiliang’s death had circulated in the early hours of May 28th, with internal rumors suggesting he passed away due to a heart attack.
After official media reported Xu Qiliang’s passing, Hong Kong media cited veteran journalist Ma Ling on social media saying that Xu Qiliang suffered a heart attack while exercising in the courtyard in the morning and was rushed to the hospital for rescue but ultimately could not be saved.
Various rumors circulating online claim that Xu Qiliang’s death was due to “unnatural causes” and that he was “scared to death” during a purge or crackdown.
Taiwan’s Institute for National Defense and Security Research analyst Shen Mingshi previously told Epoch Times that Xu Qiliang’s sudden death from a heart attack should be related to the military’s crackdown and is less likely to be caused by routine morning exercises. The possibility of Xi Jinping assassinating him is also relatively small. The first possibility is that Xu had a very close relationship with Xi Jinping and had even helped Xi in purging many people. However, he may have feared retaliation, causing him to suffer a heart attack and pass away. The second cause of death could be related to Zhang Youxia, who currently holds the military power. Xi Jinping wanted to regain military authority through Xu Qiliang by recruiting military personnel to counterattack, which could have provoked retaliation from Zhang Youxia, or Zhang could have taken preemptive action.
Born in March 1950 in the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Air Force, Xu Qiliang was an Air Force General who held positions such as Chief of the Air Force General Staff, Deputy Chief of the General Staff, Air Force Commander, member of the Central Military Commission of the CCP, Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission, and member of the Politburo, before retiring in March 2023.
Xu Qiliang was instrumental in the early phase of Xi Jinping’s purge of military leaders associated with the Jiang faction and the military reform. He led the integration of the Rocket Force and the Strategic Support Force, but eventually faced scandals in the Rocket Force and restructuring of the Strategic Support Force.
A photo circulated online, reportedly taken in early 1991, shows Xi Jinping with Air Force officers deployed in Fujian. Xi Jinping, who was then Secretary of the Fujian Provincial Committee in Fuzhou and the first secretary of the Fujian Military Division Party Committee, stood in the middle of the front row, with Xu Qiliang, then the Eighth Army Commander stationed in Fuzhou, on his right, and Ding Laihang, the 24th Air Force 71st Regiment Commander, in the back row. Xu Qiliang and Ding Laihang served as Air Force Commanders in 2007 and 2017, respectively.
Independent commentator Du Zheng believes that this photo confirms that Xu Qiliang and Xi’s relationship was established early on in Fujian. Xu Qiliang’s political background aligned with Xi’s, and after Xi came to power, Xu officially aligned with him.
During Xu Qiliang’s funeral, current Vice Chairman of the Military Commission, He Waidong, did not send a floral wreath.
CCTV’s live video footage showed a row of floral wreaths placed against the wall. In the area where the wreaths from Politburo members other than the Standing Committee were grouped, there were four wreaths, each with the names of four Politburo members, totaling sixteen people. Including the seven Politburo Standing Committee members who sent individual wreaths, there were a total of twenty-three people. Among the twenty-four Politburo members, the name of “He Waidong” was conspicuously absent.
Independent commentator Cai Shenkun pointed out in a post on a platform that among all the Politburo members, only He Waidong did not send a wreath to Xu Qiliang. He suggested that this indicates He Waidong is no longer a Politburo member or enjoying the privileges, thus implying strongly that he might have passed away. This further confirms the reliability of the earlier prediction of He Waidong’s demise.
Cai Shenkun had previously revealed in a video program on May 24th that He Waidong had died on May 2nd at the 301 Hospital.
In 2023, Xi suddenly replaced two commanders of the Rocket Force personally established by him, and shortly after, then-Defense Minister Li Shangfu was dismissed. In June 2024, both Li Shangfu and his predecessor Wei Feng and were reported to have received huge bribes, damaging military equipment construction. In November 2014, Xi’s trusted confidant and Director of the Politburo’s Military Work Department, Miao Hua, was suspended for investigation. After the closing of the two sessions in March this year, one of the two Vice Chairmen of the Military Commission, He Waidong, suddenly disappeared.
The crackdown in the past two years has been attributed to Vice Chairman of the Military Commission Zhang Youxia.
Former writer of the CCP Central Discipline Inspection Commission, Wang Youqun, recently analyzed in an article that the relationship among Xu Qiliang, He Waidong, and Miao Hua as Xi Jinping’s close confidants might be more intricate. In the sensitive period when the “He Waidong, Miao Hua political group” was under investigation, Xu Qiliang’s sudden death raises suspicions that it may be related to the “Miao Hua, He Waidong political group” case.
In an article, independent commentator Du Zheng pointed out that the collapse of Xi Jinping’s close confidant group in the military indicates severe internal tensions and significant damage within the CCP’s military in this power struggle.