Before the Fourth Plenary Session of the Chinese Communist Party, the military issued an announcement, expelling nine generals including He Weidong from the party and the military in one fell swoop. As they were all handpicked by Xi Jinping and now collectively falling from grace, the insider story has attracted international attention. The Chinese military newspaper later published an editorial framing them as “anti-Xi,” seemingly to absolve Xi but more likely to engage in a high-level conspiracy, subtly throwing out the idea of a “tyrant.”
The Chinese Ministry of National Defense announced on October 17 that Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission He Weidong, former Director of the Political Work Department of the Military Commission Miao Hua, and 7 others were expelled from the party and the military. Among the nine generals, except for Wang Houbin, who was promoted to commander of the Rocket Force in 2023, all were members of the 20th Central Committee.
There are also a large number of rumored generals who have fallen from grace, but since they are not Central Committee members, the authorities may not publicly deal with them.
The editorial in the military newspaper on October 18 claimed that by taking down He Weidong and the others, it once again demonstrated the firm determination of the Party Central Committee and the Central Military Commission to carry out the anti-corruption struggle to the end, urging all army and armed police forces to resolutely obey the commands of the Party Central Committee, the Central Military Commission, and Chairman Xi.
The editorial accused He Weidong, Miao Hua, He Hongjun, and the others of “collapse of faith, disloyalty, seriously betraying the trust of the Party Central Committee and the Central Military Commission, seriously undermining the Party’s principle of command and the chairman responsibility system of the Military Commission.” It also indicated that their corruption issues were a variant of the ferment caused by Guo Boxiong and Xu Caihou.
The editorial reiterated the importance of remaining loyal to the core, supporting the core, safeguarding the core, and defending the core, as well as the principles of “two safeguards” and “implementing the chairman responsibility system of the Military Commission.”
Some observers believe that this editorial is a proof of Xi’s consolidated power, dismissing the idea of Xi losing power as unfounded. In response to the questioning of Xi’s personnel judgment, some say that those recommended to Xi were from the lower ranks, implying that the responsibility does not lie with Xi, aligning with the CCP’s official stability maintenance routine.
However, in the view of the author, the editorial of the military newspaper may appear to support Xi at the surface by distancing him from He Weidong and others, whitewashing Xi, but the effect is actually a high-level conspiracy, seemingly blackening Xi while pretending to support him.
Comparing the previous descriptions by Party media when the 20th Central Committee members were revealed, it is evident how absurd the CCP’s propaganda and political operations are.
According to an article published by the CCP’s media Xinhua in October 22, 2022, titled “Holding High the Great Banner and Composing a New Chapter – The Birth of the New Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party and the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection,” the core paragraph is the “Foresight and Deep Planning” section, which states:
“General Secretary Xi Jinping personally planned, deployed, and personally guided and supervised the personnel preparations work of the 20th ‘two committees,’ providing the correct direction.”
“A decision was made to establish the ‘twenty large cadres inspection leadership group,’ and General Secretary Xi Jinping personally served as the group leader.”
“For more than a year, General Secretary Xi Jinping has repeatedly listened to the reports on the personnel preparations work of the ‘two committees.'”
“The inspection work has always been carried out under the centralized and unified leadership of the Party Central Committee.” Xi said, “The top priority in selecting and employing personnel is political standards.”
In just three years from the 20th Central Committee to now, the military newspaper’s editorial accused Miao Hua and others of disloyalty, even anti-Xi, which directly contradicts Xinhua’s claim, further proving Xi’s lack of personnel judgment, more like throwing out a “tyrant.”
The military newspaper indicated that He Weidong, Miao Hua, He Hongjun, and others were disloyal, linking them with Guo Boxiong and Xu Caihou, who have already been characterized as “ambitious,” suggesting that these generals are involved in a political coup, not just mere corruption but also political ambitions. This implies that Xi personally set up “landmines” for himself.
The editorial highlighted multiple repetitions of past expressions of loyalty to Xi, continuing to tell the outside world that Xi has not made any mistakes, it was He, Miao, and others who were at fault for not being loyal to the core, and after this, the entire army must remain loyal to Xi. This is similar to the Communist Party’s praising phrases after the disaster of the Cultural Revolution, where they elevated the Communist Party as “great, glorious, and correct,” with such flattering language that only made the people laugh.
How were these generals with problems promoted? Normally, it would be recommended by Chen Xi, who took over the Organization Department after Xi Jinping took office, and approved by Xi Jinping himself, or directly designated by Xi. The military system is independent, and these generals were recommended by Miao Hua, the personnel manager appointed by Xi, for promotions. The only one who could promote them out of turn is Xi Jinping himself. Particularly since the Party media has declared that the members of the Central Committee were personally approved by Xi Jinping, then Xi is the primary person responsible.
No one can deny that Miao Hua is Xi’s confidant. When Miao Hua served in the 31st Group Army in Fujian, he was closely associated with Xi and later rose through the ranks, managing military personnel for Xi. Miao Hua engaged in rampant corruption under Xi’s watchful eye, and Xi could not have been unaware of it.
Similarly, He Weidong, who also has a connection to Xi Jinping in Fujian, was not a delegate at the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, nor was he a member of the 19th Central Committee, a candidate member, a military commission member. He was merely the Eastern Theater Commander. However, at the 20th National Congress of the CPC, He Weidong was swiftly promoted to a Central Committee member, a Politburo member, and a Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission.
If the responsibility for promoting these individuals is attributed to the recommender Miao Hua, but wasn’t Miao Hua the personnel manager in the military handpicked by Xi himself? Now that even Miao Hua is in trouble, Xi cannot escape the blame for promoting the “big tiger” Miao Hua.
Therefore, after the Xi family’s full takeover following the 20th National Congress, such a widespread collapse directly undermines Xi Jinping’s authority.
As for who could take down Miao Hua and He Weidong later, it can only be said that their opponents within the Military Commission, Zhang Youxia and Zhang Shengmin.
This Fourth Plenary Session may involve a major restructuring of the Military Commission, where Xi’s influence in the military is nil, and those who can enter are likely to be Zhang Youxia, Zhang Shengmin, and Liu Zhenli’s people. The real power in the military is fundamentally not in Xi’s hands. The so-called “Xi losing power” in some sense, is established.
Honestly, everyone in the military knows what this anti-corruption campaign within the military is about: even though Xi appears to have military power on the surface, on the one hand, the real power is not in his hands, on the other hand, Xi’s close allies who were appointed while he was ill have collectively fallen, leaving him with no authority and shaking the military’s morale. With this prior experience, those appointed by Xi again are equally unreliable, and when there is a crisis, a mutiny at the frontline is imminent.
（Epoch Times exclusive）