China Expels Top General Zhang Youxia From Communist Party — SkimNews
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- Zhang Youxia, the more senior vice chairman of the Central Military Commission and China's highest-ranked general, was expelled from the Communist Party on September 21, 2026, alongside officer Liu Zhenli.
- State news agency Xinhua reported both men were found 'disloyal to the Party' and had 'crossed red lines' through forming cliques, accepting 'exceptionally large sums of money,' and using their positions to help others secure job promotions.
- The Defence Ministry first announced in January 2026 that both men were 'suspected of serious violations of discipline and the law' — a standard Chinese euphemism for corruption.
- Both officers had already been stripped of their CMC positions last month, and their formal expulsion now awaits ratification at a plenary session of the Party's Central Committee.
- Zhang's downfall shocked observers given his seniority and the perception he was close to President Xi Jinping, making him one of the most dramatic casualties of Xi's sweeping anti-corruption campaign.
- Their cases have been transferred to the military's legal organs for review and prosecution, with Xinhua framing the decision as proof that 'there is absolutely no place for corrupt elements to hide within the military.'
Why it matters: Zhang's expulsion strikes at a figure once seen as close to Xi Jinping and at the very top of China's military hierarchy — the senior vice chairmanship of the CMC — demonstrating that Xi's anti-corruption campaign now operates without an apparent protective ceiling for loyalists. With both cases transferred to military legal organs for prosecution and expulsion pending Central Committee ratification, the purge is moving from administrative discipline into formal criminal territory against the PLA's most senior ranks.
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