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China’s top political advisory body has ousted three retired generals—Han Weiguo, Liu Lei, and Gao Jin—marking a significant escalation in Beijing’s sweeping military purge.
These dismissals occurred just days before the “Two Sessions,” the nation’s most important annual political gathering, and follow the recent removal of nine other military officials from the national legislature.
While no official reasons were provided, the move aligns with President Xi Jinping’s decade-long campaign to eliminate corruption and ensure absolute loyalty within the Communist Party and the armed forces.
The crackdown has reached the highest levels of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), including a confirmed investigation into Zhang Youxia, a vice chairman of the powerful Central Military Commission (CMC).
Experts from the Centre for Strategic and International Studies describe these arrests as part of the most extensive series of purges in the history of the PLA.
The intensity of the crackdown is evidenced by the fact that only one general currently remains on the CMC, which typically seats six officers of that rank.
Beyond the military, the purge has impacted high-ranking civilian roles, including the Minister of Emergency Management and the head of the PLA’s military court.
Analysts suggest that these significant leadership vacancies may have a cooling effect on China’s immediate geopolitical ambitions.
Specifically, the hollowed-out top brass could make it exceptionally difficult for Beijing to coordinate large-scale military operations against Taiwan in the near term, despite China’s defence budget continuing to dominate regional spending.
