A renewed attack on two purged generals and calls for loyalty to Xi Jinping suggest unease inside the Chinese military after a rare top-level shake-up.
China’s official military newspaper has renewed its public attack on two recently purged top generals, urging troops to support their investigation and to pledge loyalty to Chinese leader Xi Jinping—a move that analysts say underscores growing unease within the People’s Liberation Army (PLA).
In a front-page editorial published on Jan. 31, the PLA Daily described the investigation of former Central Military Commission (CMC) Vice Chairman Zhang Youxia and CMC member Liu Zhenli as a “major victory” in the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP’s) anti-corruption campaign. The article calls on officers and soldiers across the military to “resolutely support” the Party leadership and “maintain a high degree of consistency” with Xi.
The renewed messaging, coming days after the two generals were officially removed, has raised questions among analysts about whether Beijing is struggling to contain dissent within the armed forces following one of the most dramatic military purges in years.
A Rare 2nd Denunciation
On Jan. 24, it was announced that Zhang and Liu were under investigation. That same night, the PLA Daily ran a sharply worded editorial accusing them of seriously undermining the system that places the military under the direct authority of the Party leader—a political charge that drew widespread attention.
Since then, official propaganda outlets have largely fallen silent. The Jan. 31 article marked a rare second public denunciation, naming both men repeatedly and framing their cases primarily through the lens of corruption.
The editorial emphasizes that the investigations demonstrate that the anti-corruption campaign tolerates “zero leniency.” It concludes by demanding that the military follow Xi’s command and be accountable to Xi.
Shen Ming-Shih, a research fellow at Taiwan’s Institute for National Defense and Security Research, told The Epoch Times that the unusually strong language suggests that morale problems may have emerged in the military after the purge.
“The CCP tends to emphasize what it lacks,” he said. “The fact that the military newspaper felt compelled to issue another attack days later indicates instability in the ranks—and possibly even resistance.”
Following the initial purge of the two generals, insiders revealed that the CMC was implementing a “near-war” level of internal control to protect the regime’s political stability. Shen said the renewed propaganda push may reflect concerns that some units remained sympathetic to Zhang, a long-serving and influential figure within the PLA.
According to Shen, Xi may be using the military newspaper to project an image of finality—signaling that Zhang and Liu have no chance of reversal—in an effort to deter further dissent and reassert control.
Anti-Corruption or Political Purge?
Several analysts said the corruption framing obscures what is fundamentally a political struggle.
