Zhang Youxia, Liu Zhenli, and Zhong Shaojun Have Been Arrested

[william]

All of Zhang Youxia's family members have also been taken into custody.

https://twitter.com/x/status/2014172783878783132

https://twitter.com/x/status/2014568265880895926

Translation

Many people are still arguing endlessly over whether Zhang Youxia has been arrested or not. I want to tell readers at home and abroad once again that the news of Zhang Youxia and 17 other senior generals being arrested is absolutely accurate, including General Liu Zhenli, General Xiao Tianliang, Lieutenant General Zhong Shijun, and others. The arrest operation was jointly carried out by the Ministry of Public Security's Special Service Bureau, the Central Security Bureau, and the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, equivalent to a heavyweight military coup! In the coming days, there will also be a large number of lieutenant generals, major generals, and even division-level officers arrested. The news of Zhang Youxia and others being arrested was reported to provincial and ministerial-level officials yesterday afternoon, and it will be conveyed to deputy provincial-level officials today.

Power Struggle in Beijing: Mysterious Absences of Top Generals Spark Coup Rumors - Vision Times

Recently there has been a chilling development in Beijing’s opaque political arena: rumors that Zhang Youxia, vice chairman of the Central Military Commission

www.visiontimes.com

If Zhang Youxia Is Arrested, Intra- - China - Xin Gaodi

If Zhang Youxia really is, as overseas disclosures claim, brought down together with Liu Zhenli and Zhong Shaojun—and even their entire families are taken away—

www.peoplenewstoday.com

Zhang Youxia Reportedly Detained, Signaling Deeper Xi-Led PLA Purge - Vision Times

In recent days, rumors that Zhang Youxia, vice chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC)—the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) highest military

www.visiontimes.com

 

[Torch]

China’s Xi Places His Top General Under Investigation as Military Purges Heat Up​

Gen. Zhang Youxia is most senior active member of military hierarchy to face dismissal since fallout of 1989 Tiananmen Square protests​

https://www.wsj.com/world/china/chinas-xi-places-his-top-general-under-investigation-as-military-purges-heat-up-d07f9c7d

 

[william]

Military purge gives Xi total control of Chinese army​

“The [PLA] purge is really just complete,” said Lyle Morris, a senior fellow at the Asia Society Policy Institute, a Washington-based think tank. “It’s a complete cleaning house... the biggest purge in Chinese history since 1949.”

One result is to leave the PLA in “disarray” and delay any move for Taiwan, Mr Morris added.

“We can all sleep soundly for years,” he said. “There is no way they could pull off the Taiwan contingency with no senior leaders in charge.”

The CMC has been reduced to its smallest size in history. There are now only two members, including Mr Xi and Zhang Shengmin, the military’s anti-corruption watchdog, who was promoted to CMC vice-chair in October. Every one of the six uniformed commanders appointed to the body in 2022 has now been removed.

Beijing is capable of pumping out an array of impressive, hi-tech weaponry, (chinese junk ) IMO, but they sort of “fall down” on the “software” of being able to conduct large-scale military maneuvers combining the air force, navy and ground troops.

Military purge gives Xi total control of Chinese army

Any plan to seize Taiwan by force will probably be delayed as president roots out corruption among top ranks

www.telegraph.co.uk

 

[william]

China experts raise alarms over Xi’s sweeping military purge​

China’s sudden removal of senior military leaders, including allegations that a top general leaked sensitive information to the United States, is raising new questions about internal turmoil inside the Chinese Communist Party and the readiness of the People’s Liberation Army.

Experts told Fox News Digital that while many details remain unclear, the scope of the apparent purge points to mounting instability under Chinese President Xi Jinping, with potential implications for regional security and rising tensions around Taiwan.

Craig Singleton, senior China fellow at the non-partisan Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said the developments appear driven by political control rather than an imminent move toward conflict.

"These unprecedented purges reflect Xi’s clear focus on control and cohesion — ensuring the People’s Liberation Army is politically reliable, centralized and obedient before it can be tasked with high-risk operations," Singleton told Fox News Digital.

"Some analysts are comparing these developments to Stalin-era purges in the late 1930s. There certainly are echoes, but I think the closer analogy is Moscow in 1979 — when Soviet political leaders pushed for the invasion of Afghanistan despite strong military warnings that it would be unsustainable and devolve into a costly guerrilla war."

He warned that China may now be facing a similar disconnect between political leadership and military reality.

"Xi’s purges may reflect a similar dynamic: political urgency to speed up invasion planning over Taiwan colliding with a military that senior Chinese officers know isn’t ready yet."

China expert Gordon Chang, told Fox News Digital the uncertainty surrounding the purge highlights the depth of instability inside China’s system.

"There’s no way to make sense of this right now," Chang said. "All we can say is that the situation is fluid, that the regime is in turmoil, and probably the People’s Liberation Army is not ready to engage in major operations because dozens of senior officers have been either arrested or removed."

"This is an extraordinary situation," he added. "And this means that China, the country itself, not just the regime, but the country itself is unstable."

The continued removal of high-ranking officers, Chang argued, points to deeper fractures within the Communist Party itself.

China experts raise alarms over Xi’s sweeping military purge

Military turmoil in China raises Taiwan invasion concerns as Xi Jinping removes senior officers. Analysts warn of growing instability despite control.

www.foxnews.com

 

[william]

Diplomatic Banquet Overshadowed by Military Purge​

As Starmer and Xi tucked into their banquet, apparently exchanging small talk about the relative merits of Manchester United and Arsenal, the city outside the Great Hall was buzzing with intrigue about a purge that has decimated the top leadership of the People's Liberation Army with a brutality unseen since the dark days of Mao.

Zhang Youxia is its latest victim, now under investigation for what the Communist Party calls 'suspected serious violations of discipline and law'. His fate is unknown, but he is almost certainly in what the Party calls 'administrative detention'.

This is the innocuous cloak for a network of jails, an archipelago of secret detention facilities, which operate outside China's normal legal system (as far as the country can be described as having a 'normal' system).

Those who have emerged from these grim prisons, and have been brave enough to tell the story, describe long hours in solitary confinement, frequently shackled and under constant surveillance, with no right to a lawyer

China denies they exist, and legally that is true. They are not subject to any oversight other than that of the Party, which recognizes no authority other than its own. Some jails cater to dissidents, though the Party reserves a large part of this network for its own errant members or other officials deemed corrupt – an infinitely elastic term in China.

Safeguard Defenders, a human rights group, has compiled evidence from former detainees who describe physical and psychological tortures. This includes sleep and food deprivation, beatings, forced medication, denial of medical treatment, sexual abuse, and being forced into stress positions, including being hung by the wrists.

Ai Weiwei, the Chinese dissident artist, now living in exile, was held in a 'jail' for 81 days. He described how he shared his cell with two soldiers, who just stood to attention, staring at him, 24 hours a day, even watching him in the toilet. He would exercise by pacing up and down because he was never allowed outside.

Xi Jinping's China is not Stalin's Russia and there is no bullet to the back of the head for rivals – at least not immediately.

The Party likes its version of 'due process' and the aim of the 'jails' is to break the prisoner, who will emerge months or even years later, traumatized, having confessed to a 'crime', real or imagined. A perfunctory trial will then take place, leading to a lengthy jail sentence or execution.

'Corruption' in China is a catch-all that covers a multitude of sins, including insufficient loyalty to the leader. Reports from Beijing suggest he may have leaked nuclear secrets to America, while some overseas Chinese sources talk luridly of power struggles, coup attempts and mutinies against Xi. These groups have always had a vivid imagination, but the Communist Party is such an opaque organization, that it can be hard to tell fact from fiction, rumor from reality.

MSN

 

[william]

Xi Jinping is operating with ‘no political brakes’ after purge​

 

[Yingyang]

Actually he Xi Jinping is simply cleaning house of previous paid for military positions his military leaders acqiured awhile ago of which he recently found out along with other corruption in military and other sectors. He is being thorough for future plans. This will extend the timeline to act a little , so good for him, his country and his foes. Not as bigger deal as made out by western reports. Actually if the chinese foes militaries had half a brain then now would be the time to act , that is if their beliefs truly were substantial to see the opportunity of their reports.

 

[intel-bank]

He’s done so many purges of all sorts of flavors by now it’s hard to keep count. I do not believe this means imminent invasion, however I believe that he must be uncertain about something, something has spooked him. He thinks he may need to ensure he has full control over the military. I think Taiwan wouldn’t have caused cracks in the military if that were the plan so I’m thinking there’s another reason.

Maybe I’m wrong and we are all doomed.

 

[william]

This is incredibly dangerous. All evidence indicates that Xi is determined to take control of Taiwan.

https://twitter.com/x/status/2018370252585750733

 

[Publius]

Mostly done to shore up his political hold on power. Numbers are not as much as the cultural revolution. It the most since that time.

The problem lies in the disruption and political massaging of information that reaches Xi.
This was of concern with the recent housing crisis.

As far as invading or attacking Taiwan, doubt full. Maybe some risky operations or at sea skirmishes with PRC vessels. Things that have a chance at destabilizing Taiwan and its relations with allies.