Xi Jinping Completes His Military Purge, Including PLA Navy's Top Admirals
In the latest issue of the Maritime Executive magazine, the thorough-going purge of China’s Peoples’ Liberation Army (PLA) was described, a clean-out so comprehensive that it was uncertain if there was anyone left in the high command of the PLA with the necessary experience to prepare for and to execute an invasion of Taiwan. President Xi himself has said repeatedly that the PLA must be equipped and ready to ‘recover’ Taiwan by 2027, the year in which the PLA attains its 100th anniversary and President Xi presents himself for an unprecedented fourth term in office at the 21st Chinese Communist Party (CPC) Congress.
But rather than culminating with the recently-confirmed dismissal of General Zhang Youxia, who as Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), the equivalent of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, was the CMC’s most senior officer, the purge has continued. There is almost no officer left in the senior PLA hierarchy to purge – and often replacements have not been appointed, so many posts have now been left open and further purge opportunities are now limited. The PLA Navy has been particularly hard-hit.
The continuing purge was the central theme of the CPC’s Fifth Plenary Session, which concluded in Beijing this week. With President Xi Jinping speaking to an auditorium with dozens of empty seats, the communique issued afterwards stressed the importance of adopting ‘Xi Jinping Thought on Party Building’ and on taking ‘systematic steps to address both symptoms and root causes of corruption, adopting a holistic approach that combines severe punishment, targeted remedy, and effective prevention, carrying this fight through to the end." The surviving delegates voted unanimously in favor of the supporting resolutions.
President Xi railed against a lack of Party spirit amongst CPC members, and malpractices such as ‘cultivating connections’, the use of proxies to make back-room deals, contractor collusion with recently-retired officers, and the illicit use of the internet, blockchain technology and foreign currency exchanges.
Those known to have been purged earlier this year included General Zhang Youxia, CMC Deputy Chairman, and General Liu Zhenli, Chief of Staff for Joint Operations, now announced as not just dismissed but up for trial on what could be capital charges. Both were previously close friends and long-standing political allies of President Xi. Also dismissed earlier this year were:
General He Weidong, head strategic planner for operations against Taiwan.
Admiral Miao Hua, Head of the CMC Political Works Directorate
Admiral Yuan Huazhi, Head of the PLA Navy Political Works Department.
Admiral Wang Houbin, Commander PLA Rocket Force
Vice Admiral Li Hanjun, former Commander PLA Navy
Lieutenant General Lin Xiangyang, Commander of the Eastern Theatre facing Taiwan
Vice Admiral Wang Zhongcai, Commander East Seas Fleet facing Taiwan.
Major General Ding Laifu, Commander 73rd Army Group, in the Eastern Theatre facing Taiwan
The sixteen new names added during the CPC’s Fifth Plenary Session to the list of those purged included:
Lieutenant General Zhong Shaojun, Director CMC General Office, long-term Xi aide
Lieutenant General Fang Yongxiang, Director CMC General Office,
General Wang Haijiang, Commander Western Theatre
General Huang Ming, Commander Northern Theatre
General Liu Qingsong, Head Political Works Department Eastern Theatre
General Zhao Zongqi, retired and a former Western Theatre Commander
General Zhao Zongqi may perhaps have been targeted because he was a Chinese military hero, renowned for his exploits in the Sino-Vietnamese War and his leadership in the 2020 Galwan Valley clash with India. General Zhang Youxia may also have been dismissed just for being a bit too charismatic and effective – and hence presenting a potential challenger to the somewhat dour President Xi.
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Those dismissed include all four theatre commanders, as well as the principal operational commanders in the Eastern Theatre who would be charged with ‘recovering’ Taiwan. There will also have been hundreds of junior officers, subordinates of those dismissed, who will also have been purged. One of the few senior officers to remain in post is Admiral Hu Zhongming, PLA Navy Commander since December 2023 and previously Commander North Sea Fleet. But he has not been elevated to membership of the CMC.
Admiral Hu Zhongming, PLAN Commander since December 2023, and the most senior officer to have not yet been purged (Wikipedia)All were variously dismissed for ‘forming political cliques and factions, disloyalty and dishonesty toward the ruling party, abuse of office and illicit promotion assistance, and for accepting large sums in defense-related corruption’. They may also have posed a perceived political threat to Xi in the run-up to his expected bid for an unprecedented fourth term as the CCP’s top leader.
