China Probes 2 Top Military Officials for ‘Serious Violations’

Chinese authorities have announced an investigation into two of the country’s most senior military officials, accusing them of “serious violations of discipline and law,” according to a Jan. 24 statement from China’s defense ministry.

The officials named were Zhang Youxia, a member of the Chinese Communist Party’s Politburo and vice chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), and Liu Zhenli, a member of the CMC who also serves as chief of the Joint Staff Department of the CMC.

The defense ministry statement said Zhang and Liu are “suspected of serious violations of discipline and law,” and that authorities have decided to file a case for review and investigations into both of them.

The statement said the decision followed a probe by the Party Central Committee, suggesting the move carries political weight in a system where the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) maintains direct control over the armed forces.

The defense ministry did not provide further details about the nature of the alleged violations.

The announcement comes amid heightened scrutiny of internal discipline enforcement within China’s military and the party’s broader anti-corruption and political control campaigns.

The announcement marks the first time since 1989 that two members of the Politburo have been ousted in a single term, according to an insider close to senior officials in the Chinese military, who spoke to The Epoch Times on condition of anonymity.

That year, Zhao Ziyang, who was the Party General Secretary, was removed along with another Politburo member for opposing the clampdown on pro-democracy student protesters

While Zhang still holds his seat on the Politburo, the Communist Party’s second-highest decision-making body, analysts who spoke to The Epoch Times indicated his expulsion from the elite body is likely an inevitable outcome following the internal investigation.

If Zhang’s ouster was confirmed, there would be another vacancy at the Politburo, which started the current five-year term with 24 members in late 2022.

The first vacancy was created following the fall of He Weidong, once the country’s second-most-senior uniformed officer and a close ally of Party leader Xi Jinping.

He, along with eight other senior military leaders, was expelled by the Party and the military last October. The defense ministry’s spokesperson stated at the time that the dismissal was due to severe violations of Party discipline and serious duty-related crimes “involving an extremely large amount of money.”

‘Chief Accelerator’ of CCP’s Collapse

The seemingly endless political cleansing of the Party leaders could directly threaten Communist Party rule, according to Su Tzu-yun, an expert on the Chinese military at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research in Taiwan.

The political upheaval came as the leadership in Beijing grapples with a set of structural economic challenges that have hindered the growth of the world’s second-largest economy. That includes high youth unemployment and local government debt, an aging population, and a prolonged housing crisis that has eroded household wealth and weighed heavily on consumption.

“The gun, the purse, the sword, and the pen are all under strain,” Su told The Epoch Times, referring to the Communist Party’s four levers of power: the military, financial power, the internal security apparatus, and the propaganda machine.

“If such factional struggles continue, it is obviously an ominous signal for the Chinese Communist Party,” Su said.

“It could pose a direct threat to Communist Party’s rule. Xi Jinping effectively acts as a chief accelerator behind it.”

Luo Ya contributed to this report.

Correction: An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that the officials had already been removed from their positions. The Epoch Times regrets the error.