In mid-2025, Beijing’s military brass found themselves in the political equivalent of a high-stakes game of musical chairs. On August 27, it emerged that President Xi Jinping—he of the teleprompter-stare and tightly rolled sleeve branding—has carried out the most sweeping purge of military leadership since Mao’s Cultural Revolution-era showdowns.
Call it “Operation Guillotine General.” Up to 20% of his personally appointed senior officers are now gone—including He Weidong, the Vice Chair of the Central Military Commission (CMC) and—
wait for it—
one of the top military commanders in China. Also axed? Admiral Miao Hua, ideological commissar to the military; Defense Minister Li Shangfu—expelled, disappeared, rumored detained; and a swath of other rocket chiefs, naval staff, and commissariat bigwigs. The once-seven-member CMC is now down to four, with Xi as the commander-in-chief and resident echo chamber.
Is This Xi Showing Strength—or Struggling for It?
Let’s poke at this spectacle with a cultural scalpel:
Is this a flex? A demonstration of Germania-grade strength—Xi, Venerable First, ruthlessly trimming bloated generals to show loyalty doesn’t guarantee survival?
Or is this a buckling at the support columns? A sign that his grip is fragile, that economic slippage and factional whispers are eroding the scaffolding of power?
On one hand, analysts say this is exactly the tradition of “tigers and flies”—Mao’s purges modernized by a man who believes nothing threatens his throne more than unvetted generals.
On the other, the purge screams of instability—when you start chopping at your inner circle, you’re either preempting betrayal… or overreacting to minor slights under paranoia.
China’s Military, Shaken Like a Snow Globe
Some key casualties, for those keeping score:
- Li Shangfu — removed Minister of Defense, vanished October 2023, expelled in 2024.
- Admiral Miao Hua — ideological chief, removed June 2025 post-corruption probe.
- He Weidong — second-ranked general and Politburo member—gone, vanished from public life in April/May 2025.
And that’s just scratching the surface. Rocket force operators, deputy commanders, equipment chiefs—nearly 20 senior military figures have been rotated into oblivion, mostly under the banner of “disciplinary violations.”
The Bee’s-Eye View: Xi’s Military Is a Shrinking Hive
Our cartoon bee hovers over Chinese military portraits being literally whited-out on a wall. It holds a sign: “Fewer Generals, Same Echo Chamber.” The message? Xi’s consolidating power by thinning the field—loyalists only, please—but the result is no debate, no challenge, just dangerous silence from officers afraid to speak. Echo chamber, meet artillery.
Purging the PLA—or Performing Stability Theater?
This spectacle serves two chapters of the same narrative:
1. The Iron Fist
Message: Challenge Xi’s authority and you’ll vanish. That’s discipline, regime-style.
2. The Fearful Stage
Shields are down, and the chaos behind palace walls is leaking. Purge elites fast enough, and you can’t govern at full capacity—especially when your future war plans (like Taiwan, commemorative missile timelines, etc.) rely on institutional memory and trusted commanders.
Paranoia or Power Play?
Some speculate about soft coups, reluctant elites, or factional strikes inside the CCP. But realistically? Coup aspirations have been undercut by total surveillance, AI social credit scoring, and militarized party cadres. Xi’s not being removed—it’s just that his court is dropping like flies.
But that erosion? That matters. A hollowed CMC and nullified generals may not stop the country—but they could erode China’s strategic heft, especially if resentment rots the chain of command.
Final Sting: Loyalty Isn’t Strategy
Xi is playing god of generals: promoting, purging, polishing his power shrine. But the unintended irony?
By firing near a fifth of the men he handpicked, he introduced fragility into China’s defense posture. He replaced allegiance with fear, authority with protocol, modernization with mid-life crises. And in 2027—when Taiwan stares defiantly across the strait, and rockets should be ready—will all that loyalty translate to competence?
Because if you purge your generals, you might earn their fear… but you’ll lose their capability. And those are the only generals who can lead on the actual battlefield—real or metaphorical.