China Ousts Another High-Ranking Military Leader as Purge Deepens

Miao Hua, who oversaw the entire military’s loyalty to the CCP for seven years as an ally of Xi Jinping, has been expelled from the rubber-stamped legislature.

Adm. Miao Hua (C), China's director of the political affairs department of the Central Military Commission, disembarks his aircraft after arriving at Pyongyang International Airport on October 14, 2019. Kim Won Jin/AFP via Getty Images

A senior member of the Chinese military elite has been removed as delegate to the Communist Party-run legislature, a development that casts a shadow over the fate of another longtime ally of leader Xi Jinping.

China announced the decision late on Wednesday to expel Adm. Miao Hua in an online statement from the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress.

China’s defense ministry said in November 2024 that Miao was suspended from office and placed under investigation for “serious violations of discipline,” a euphemism for corruption and disloyalty. Analysts have said the purge indicated intensified power struggles within the upper echelons of the Party and the armed forces.

Since coming to power in 2012, Xi has initiated a crackdown on corruption aimed at purging Party officials and military generals deemed corrupt or disloyal. The drive led to the downfall of numerous high-ranking military officers linked to his rival factions, thereby strengthening Xi’s control over the armed forces.

The latest military purge, however, has claimed some of Xi’s longtime allies, such as Miao, raising questions about the stability of Xi’s power.

Miao held the position of director of the Political Work Department for seven years before being suspended last November. This crucial role oversees the military’s ideological loyalty to the Communist Party and is key in determining the promotion of senior military officers.

He has served as a member of the Party’s Central Military Commission (CMC) since October 2017.

The CMC commands the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and represents one of the highest echelons of power in China. When Xi unveiled the leadership lineup following the 20th Party congress in October 2022, two vice chairmen and four members were on the CMC.

As of Wednesday night, Miao remains listed as a CMC member on the Ministry of Defense’s website, though the link to his profile has been disabled. In contrast, clicking on the names of other CMC members still brings up their previous news articles. A search for Miao’s name on the defense ministry’s site yielded no results.

Experts who track China’s military interpreted Wednesday’s announcement as an indicator of Miao’s downfall.

“It seems to be an official acknowledgment that Miao Hua has either been found to be corrupt, politically disloyal, or is preparing to take any actions against Xi Jinping,” Shen Ming-Shih, a research fellow at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, a think tank funded by the Taiwanese government, told The Epoch Times.

Miao is the second CMC member to be purged, following former defense minister Li Shangfu, who was dismissed in October 2023 after nearly two months of unexplained absence. In June 2024, the Communist Party kicked him out, accusing Li of accepting massive bribes and “severely polluting” the military equipment sector and companies.

The removal of Miao came amid growing speculation about the fate of Gen. He Weidong, the vice chair of CMC and a member of the Politburo, the Party’s second-highest tier of power.

He, the military’s No. 3 officer, has missed at least three key political events this month in which all CMC leaders were expected to appear. The most recent one was the Politburo’s study session on April 25. Footage broadcast on state television CCTV showed that the session was attended by Politburo’s all 24 members except top diplomat Wang Yi, who was on a visit to Kazakhstan, and He Weidong.

In mid-March, two Chinese commentators, citing their sources close to the Party’s top ranks, told The Epoch Times that He was taken away by authorities for questioning. The Washington Times later reported that the U.S. intelligence agency believed that He is being purged, citing unnamed defense officials. On April 10, the Financial Times, citing former and current U.S. officials, reported that He was removed from his post earlier this month.

Gen. He Weidong, vice chairman of China's Central Military Commission (CMC), attends the opening ceremony of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference in Beijing on March 4, 2025. Pedro Pardo/AFP via Getty Images

The defense ministry has said they were “not aware” of the reported scrutiny of He. On April 24, the ministry once again skirted a question about the general at a monthly news briefing in Beijing.

“We have responded to this question before,” Zhang Xiaogang, the ministry’s spokesman, told reporters.

The official silence has only deepened the intrigue, with analysts comparing the response to that of the reported purge of Adm. Dong Jun, the current defense minister, which Beijing dismissed as “shadow chasing.”

For Taiwanese researcher Shen, who has long studied China and the PLA,  the general’s continued absence from major events indicates that he may have fallen from grace.

Nevertheless, Shen said if the general were confirmed to have been purged, it would embarrass Xi, whose ties with He date back over two decades in Fujian, a coastal province in southern China.

“The CMC initially had seven members, but now only has four left. Xi Jinping is also embarrassed now,” Shen said.

Luo Ya contributed to this report.