Anger erupts in the military over Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli dismissal

 Direct translation

Internal sources: Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli officially dismissed; anger erupts in the military

Editor : Zhongkang / Source: Epoch Times / https://www.aboluowang.com/2026/0902/2428478.html

The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC) of the Communist Party of China (CPC) has decided to remove Zhang Youxia from his post as Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC) and Liu Zhenli from his post as a member of the CMC. Both were also dismissed from their positions as NPC deputies. Sources within the system revealed that this formal dismissal has once again shaken the military, with active-duty generals feeling angry and helpless, and retired generals reacting even more strongly.

According to a report by Xinhua News Agency on 28 August 2026, the 24th session of the 14th NPC Standing Committee concluded in Beijing that day. The meeting voted to remove Zhang Youxia from his post as Vice Chairman of the CMC and Liu Zhenli from his post as a member of the CMC. No replacements for either of them have been announced.

Mr. Mo, a source within the system, told reporters that the CPC Central Military Commission and the State Central Military Commission operate under a "one team, two names" system. Zhang Youxia's removal from his post as Vice Chairman of the State Central Military Commission means that he has effectively been excluded from the highest leadership of the CPC military.

He stated, "Active-duty generals are angry about Zhang Youxia's complete stripping from his military post, but also feel helpless. Recently, the morale of the troops has returned to the level it was in January when Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli were announced to be stepping down; this wave of upheaval has been significant."

Retired generals drink in despair and refuse to answer phone calls

Mr. Mo also stated that the strongest reaction to Zhang Youxia's removal from his position as Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission came from retired generals.

He said, "I heard that retired generals are very dissatisfied and have reacted the strongest. Some are drinking in despair at home, and others are not answering calls from their work units. It seems that retired generals are very angry; in general, they are full of resentment."

On January 24th of this year, the Ministry of National Defense of the People's Republic of China announced that Zhang Youxia, then a member of the Politburo of the CPC Central Committee and Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission, and Liu Zhenli, a member of the Central Military Commission and Chief of the Joint Staff Department, were "suspected of serious violations of discipline and law" and were placed under investigation. The PLA Daily subsequently published an article stating that the two had "seriously trampled on and undermined the Chairman of the Central Military Commission's responsibility system" and demanded that military personnel unify their thoughts and actions with the decisions of the CPC Central Committee.

Lou Wei (pseudonym), a scholar familiar with the military situation in mainland China, revealed to reporters that before the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC) removed Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli from their posts, the top leadership had already instructed political commissars of grassroots units to organize the study of editorials in the PLA Daily. He said the top leadership first "inoculated" local troops, "telling officers to study the central government's political characterization of Zhang and Liu, and to maintain consistency with the Party Central Committee and the Central Military Commission. At that time, many people already anticipated that this time they would take action against Zhang Youxia again, legally stripping him of all his powers and silencing dissent."

Layered statements suppressed dissent within the military

Zhang Youxia participated in the 1979 Sino-Vietnamese War and subsequent border operations, and Liu Zhenli also had border combat experience. Both were among the few active-duty generals in the PLA's top ranks with combat experience. Zhang Youxia was also a military figure heavily relied upon by Xi Jinping after he came to power, serving two consecutive terms as Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission, during which time he approved numerous promotions of generals. With Zhang Youxia's purge, some generals who were promoted during his tenure were also investigated.

The NPC Standing Committee completed a removal procedure at the national institutional level. Lou Wei's disclosure of the military's internal study arrangements reveals that before the formal removal from office, the CCP had already conveyed the political characterization of Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli to the grassroots through the political commissar system, requiring officers and soldiers to maintain a unified stance.

Mr. Mo revealed that even if active-duty military personnel were dissatisfied, they dared not express their opinions publicly. Retired generals, subject to relatively fewer constraints, reacted more directly in private. After the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress completed the removal process, military personnel could no longer use Zhang Youxia's continued position in the Central Military Commission as grounds to question or even obstruct the investigation and handling results.

Of the seven members of the Central Military Commission, only Xi Jinping and Zhang Shengmin remain 

The CCP's "Central Military Commission," formed in March 2023, originally had seven members: Chairman Xi Jinping, Vice Chairmen Zhang Youxia and He Weidong, and four members: Li Shangfu, Liu Zhenli, Miao Hua, and Zhang Shengmin.

Li Shangfu, He Weidong, and Miao Hua were subsequently removed from their posts. Zhang Shengmin was subsequently promoted to Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission. Following the formal dismissal of Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli, only Xi Jinping and Zhang Shengmin remain publicly serving members of the Central Military Commission (CMC), reducing the number of CMC members from seven to two. Sources familiar with the matter indicated that the CCP has no intention of adding new CMC members before the 21st National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC), and "it is very likely that the two-member CMC will remain until the conclusion of next year's Party Congress."

The changes in the qualifications of National People's Congress (NPC) deputies announced on August 28 also involved Xi Jinping's close military confidant, Zhong Shaojun, former director of the General Office of the Central Military Commission, and Ju Qiansheng, former commander of the Information Support Force. Both were simultaneously dismissed from their NPC deputy positions.

Nine out of eleven members of the CCP's military election committee have run into trouble; one newly added member is missing.