BEIJING— The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) delivered a resounding political earthquake today, announcing the expulsion of its second-highest-ranking general and eight other senior military commanders on suspicion of “serious misconduct” linked to corruption. The unprecedented purge, targeting a cross-section of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) elite, is the most sweeping public crackdown on the country’s military leadership in decades.
The Defense Ministry confirmed the removal of General He Weidong, Vice-Chairman of the powerful Central Military Commission (CMC)—the top military body chaired by President Xi Jinping—and a member of the elite 24-member Politburo. His expulsion, alongside Admiral Miao Hua, a former top political officer on the CMC, marks the latest and most dramatic phase of Xi Jinping’s decade-long anti-corruption drive, which analysts suggest is as much about enforcing absolute loyalty as rooting out graft.
The Scale of the Purge
The nine officials have been stripped of their posts, expelled from the CCP, and their cases referred to military prosecutors for review. The Defense Ministry statement, citing offenses “of a grave nature, with extremely detrimental consequences,” did not specify the exact crimes but alleged they involved “exceptionally large sums of money.”
The ousted officers include key figures from nearly every vital branch of the PLA:
- He Weidong: Vice-Chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC).
- Miao Hua: Director of the CMC’s Political Work Department.
- Lin Xiangyang: Former Commander of the Eastern Theater Command, responsible for Taiwan-related operations.
- Wang Houbin: Commander of the Rocket Force (which controls China’s nuclear and ballistic missiles).
- Wang Chunning: Commander of the Armed Police Force.
The removal of General He, who had not been seen in public since March, is particularly significant. As the number two figure on the CMC, his ousting is a symbolic display of force, demonstrating that no one, regardless of rank or past association with President Xi, is immune.
Consolidating Power Ahead of the Plenum
The timing of the announcement—just days before the CCP’s Central Committee is set to hold its crucial Fourth Plenum meeting in Beijing—underscores the political motives at play. Expelling these officials clears the way for President Xi to appoint his own loyalists to key vacant positions, further tightening his personal grip on the military apparatus.
This purge follows a steady drumbeat of dismissals over the past two years, including two former defense ministers, Li Shangfu and Wei Fenghe, and several senior officers from the PLA Rocket Force.
While the campaign is widely popular with the Chinese public, analysts say the recurring purges carry a profound cost. For an armed force tasked with transforming into a “world-class military” by mid-century, the constant turnover and climate of fear risk breeding paranoia, stifling initiative, and prioritizing political conformity over professional competence at a crucial moment of technological and strategic modernization.
The relentless crackdown is a clear signal: President Xi is prioritizing absolute ideological and political control over the world’s largest standing army, believing that an obedient force is the only reliable foundation for realizing his long-term strategic ambitions, including the goal of absorbing Taiwan.