The scale of dismissals at the top of the Chinese military is becoming increasingly significant. “Since 2022, about a hundred officers of the two highest military ranks – general and lieutenant general – have been removed from their positions or sidelined,” indicates The New York Times, citing a report published on February 24 by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in the United States. “This represents about half of the senior military command,” continues the New York daily. And the list continues to grow: the Hong Kong newspaper South China Morning Post announced on February 26 “the removal of nine military officials, including five generals and one lieutenant general.”
These reports come in the context of a particularly marked disgrace affecting two of the highest ranks of the People’s Liberation Army. In October, He Weidong, vice chairman of the Central Military Commission, was expelled from the party. In January, Zhang Youxia, also vice chairman of the Central Military Commission, was also removed from his position.
According to the CSIS report and the report from the British think tank International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), such a shake-up of the chain of command could have long-lasting effects.
