From Asia Times, October 26:
Officially, it’s all blamed on corruption, but something is unclear and the Taiwan strategy may have changed in the meantime
The most notable development from this week’s Party Plenum is the large-scale purge of the People’s Liberation Army. Here’s a brief overview of the key facts:
— The new PLA vice chairman, Zhang Weisheng, is the investigator behind the purge. He comes from the Second Artillery and is from Shaanxi, like President Xi Jinping. He is even closer to Xi than He Weidong, the purged vice chairman who met Xi during his time in Fujian.
— No new PLA members have been promoted to the Central Committee. This indicates that the PLA has been demoted. The entire PLA seems to be under suspicion.
— The fate of Zhang Youxia, the first PLA vice chairman, remains uncertain. It’s difficult to oust him now because he is a Politburo member, making the process more complicated than removing Central Committee members. The Congress might be needed, but he has most likely been effectively moved aside.
The Taiwan agenda has been officially emphasized, but it’s unclear whether the PLA can be totally in charge of it after this reshuffling. The strategy may be to regain control of the island through alternatives to direct military action, possibly by winning a democratic election.
The beginning
It all started in February 2023. As Covid was tapering off, the Chinese balloon incident erupted. A Chinese weather/spy balloon drifted over a sensitive military site in the US, sparking panic. Xi supposedly wasn’t aware of it and ordered an investigation into the PLA. Many top officials were scrutinized and punished.Then, between late 2024 and 2025, a second shake-up started. It’s unclear if it’s linked to the first.
China has replaced its last two defense ministers, Wei Fenghe in October 2023 and Li Shangfu in June 2024. Subsequently, Miao Hua, the PLA political commissar, was removed in June 2025. Now, in October, it’s He Weidong and everyone else....
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