Since coming to power, Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leader Xi Jinping has promoted 79 generals of full general rank (上将). At least 23 of them have since been investigated, removed from office, or have “disappeared,” representing an incident rate of nearly 30 percent. Most of the downfalls happened in the past couple of years.
The most notable cases include Miao Hua (苗华), a member of the Central Military Commission (CMC) and head of its Political Work Department, who was taken down (publicly announced) in November last year, and He Weidong (何卫东), a CCP Politburo member and CMC Vice Chairman, who “disappeared” on March 11 this year.
Since the CCP’s 20th National Congress, and before Miao Hua’s downfall, at least five other full generals have been purged:
- Li Shangfu (李尚福) (CMC member, State Councilor, Minister of National Defense)
- Wei Fenghe (魏凤和) (former CMC member, State Councilor, Minister of National Defense, and former Commander of the Rocket Force, the first to serve in that position)
- Zhou Ya’ning (周亚宁) (former Commander of the Rocket Force, the second to serve in that position)
- Li Yuchao (李玉超) (former Commander of the Rocket Force, the third to serve in that position)
- Ding Laihang (丁来杭) (former Air Force commander).
On July 31, the CCP Ministry of National Defense held a reception at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing to celebrate the so-called “98th anniversary of the founding of the army.” Overseas media reported that at least nine active-duty full generals were absent from the event:
- He Hongjun (何宏军) (Executive Deputy Director of the CMC Political Work Department)
- Wang Chunning (王春宁) (Commander of the People’s Armed Police)
- Zhang Hongbing (张红兵) (Political Commissar of the People’s Armed Police)
- Hu Zhongming (胡中明) (Commander of the Navy)
- Yuan Huazhi (袁华智) (Political Commissar of the Navy)
- Li Qiaoming (李桥铭) (Commander of the Army)
- Qin Shutong (秦树桐) (Political Commissar of the Army)
- Wang Qiang (王强) (Commander of the Central Theater Command)
- Xu Deqing (徐德清) (Political Commissar of the Central Theater Command).
On August 1, Huang Ming (黄铭), Commander of the Northern Theater Command, was absent from Liaoning Province’s “August 1st” Army–Government Symposium. In May this year, social media sources had claimed Huang had already been taken away for investigation.
Source: Epoch Times, August 7, 2025
https://www.epochtimes.com/gb/25/8/6/n14568663.htm