Since April, He Weidong has vanished from public view. Once serving as Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission, he was the second-highest commander of one of the world’s largest armed forces. His absence from Politburo meetings and other key events went unmentioned by state-controlled media, while online speculation was swiftly censored. For Chinese citizens, such disappearances have become routine—official explanations often arrive months later, if at all.
Confirmation finally came at the Fourth Plenum of the 20th Central Committee, where the Party announced that He had been expelled for “serious duty-related violations involving exceptionally large sums of money, of an extremely grave nature, and with profoundly negative impact.” Eight other senior military officers now face identical accusations.
The official statement, heavy on slogans and light on detail, reaffirmed the Party’s “unwavering determination to carry the anti-corruption struggle through to the end.” He’s position will be taken by Zhang Shengmin, previously in charge of anti-corruption investigations within the military. Similar patterns have emerged across government ministries: top officials disappear, and their posts remain vacant for months. Liu Jianxuan, the former head of the International Liaison Department, vanished in July and was only officially replaced in September.
After nearly thirteen years of Xi Jinping’s sweeping anti-corruption campaign, the purges show no sign of slowing. What began as a drive against loyalists of previous leaders has now turned inward, ensnaring Xi’s own appointees. According to Yang Zi, a scholar at Nanyang Technological University, even the mere suspicion of disloyalty can trigger a downfall in such a highly centralized system.
Many analysts interpret these purges as calculated displays of Xi’s enduring power—moves that allow him to continually reshape the political and military elite to his liking. And while speculation occasionally arises about possible succession plans, Yang argues that any such transition remains highly unlikely in the foreseeable future.
Source: Deutsche Welle, October 25, 2025
https://p.dw.com/p/52ZUP