China's Military Shake-Up: High-Ranking Officials Dismissed Amid Ongoing Purge

Significant Changes in China's Military Leadership

Beijing: The ongoing overhaul of China's influential defense and security sectors has led to the expulsion of several high-ranking military officials, including a senior general, the navy chief, and a nuclear scientist from the national legislature on Friday.

General Miao Hua, Vice Admiral Li Hanjun, who serves as the chief of staff for the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN), and Liu Shipeng, the deputy chief engineer at the China National Nuclear Corporation, have all been removed from the National People’s Congress (NPC), according to reports from a Hong Kong-based news outlet.

Li's removal is part of a broader crackdown affecting numerous PLA generals and some defense industry leaders, as reported.

Both officials have lost their legislative memberships, as confirmed by the news outlet.

The state-run Xinhua news agency indicated that the NPC's standing committee, which wrapped up its session on Friday, also voted to dismiss General Miao Hua from his role on the Central Military Commission (CMC), the top command of the Chinese military overseen by President Xi Jinping.

Miao, recognized as the youngest general in the Chinese military, has been under investigation for serious disciplinary breaches since November of the previous year and was previously dismissed from the NPC in April.

He also held the position of director of the Political Work Department of the CMC, a crucial role for managing Communist Party ideology and personnel within the PLA.

His career saw significant advancement following Xi's rise to power, leading to key positions in the Chinese Navy and ultimately making him the PLA's youngest admiral.

The defense ministry has stated that Miao is being scrutinized for suspected serious disciplinary violations, a term often associated with corruption.

Since Xi assumed leadership in late 2012, he has executed extensive purges within the military, which comprises over two million personnel, resulting in the removal or punishment of numerous senior generals for corruption and misconduct.

Among those punished were two defense ministers, as Xi sought to strengthen his control over the military and the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC).

Xi has consistently highlighted the necessity of loyalty to the party among PLA officials to enhance ideological control and support China's ambition to emerge as a military superpower.

Miao's removal marks the second instance of a CMC member being dismissed since the current leadership took office in 2022.