By Li Deyan, Vision Times
China’s National Defense University (NDU), the top academic institution for the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) military leadership, has increasingly become a focal point of political turbulence, as multiple senior figures connected to the institution have either disappeared from public view or reportedly fallen under investigation.
Observers noted that three former presidents of the university, Xu Xueqiang, Xiao Tianliang, and Zheng He, as well as former political commissar Zhong Shaojun were all absent from China’s annual “Two Sessions” political meetings this year. Their disappearance adds to a growing list of senior officials tied to the institution who have encountered political trouble in recent years.
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To date, four presidents and three political commissars of the National Defense University have reportedly been implicated in disciplinary investigations or political purges, prompting analysts to describe the institution as a “high-risk zone” within the People’s Liberation Army (PLA).
Senior military officials absent
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China’s 14th Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) concluded in Beijing on March 11. According to state media outlet Xinhua News Agency, 2,059 of the 2,125 CPPCC members attended the meeting, leaving 66 members absent.
Signs of unusual absences among military delegates appeared early in the proceedings. At the CPPCC opening session on March 4, only one full general, Yi Xiaoguang, was present. Just days earlier, three generals, Han Weiguo, Liu Lei, and Gao Jin, had been stripped of their CPPCC membership and their positions on the CPPCC Standing Committee.
Among the 15 military officials serving on the CPPCC Standing Committee, nine are full generals. After accounting for those who attended or were removed, five remaining generals, Wang Ning, Zhao Zongqi, Wu Shezhou, Zhu Shengling, and Zheng He, were all absent from multiple key meetings, including:
- CPPCC Standing Committee meeting held March 1–2
- CPPCC opening ceremony on March 4
- Military and armed police delegation meeting on March 7
One of the most notable figures among them is Zheng He, who previously served as both president and political commissar of the National Defense University. Zheng also shares ties with former Central Military Commission Vice Chairman He Weidong and former Political Work Department chief Miao Hua, all of whom served in the former PLA 31st Group Army under the Nanjing Military Region.
Breaking protocol
According to the official website of the National People’s Congress, the Chinese military currently has 243 deputies in the legislature, including 18 full generals. However, video footage broadcast by China Central Television showed that 13 generals were absent from the March 3 formation meeting and the March 7 plenary meeting of the military delegation.
Those missing included: Wang Jianwu, Ju Gansheng, Xu Xueqiang, An Zhaoqing, Li Fengbiao, Xiao Tianliang, He Ping, Yuan Yubai, Zheng Weiping, Xu Zhongbo, Ling Huanxin, Guo Puxiao, and Chang Dingqiu. Among them were two former presidents of the National Defense University, Xu Xueqiang and Xiao Tianliang.
Xu served as NDU president from August 2021 to October 2022, before becoming head of the PLA Equipment Development Department. Xiao Tianliang had previously served as Xu’s deputy before being promoted to president in February 2023 and later receiving the rank of general in March 2024.
Both Xu and Xiao were already absent from the CCP’s Fourth Plenary Session in October 2025, further fueling speculation about their political standing.
A new wave of purges
Independent political commentator Cai Shenkun reported in October 2025 that Xu Xueqiang and Xiao Tianliang had been removed from their posts, while NDU political commissar Zhong Shaojun had also been dismissed. The claim surfaced shortly after the Chinese military announced investigations into nine senior generals, many of whom were considered loyalists of Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
Xu’s career rise had been closely linked to Miao Hua, who served as director of the Central Military Commission’s Political Work Department from 2017 to 2024. During that period, Xu was rapidly promoted, becoming lieutenant general in 2019 and later a full general.
Former NDU political commissar Zhong Shaojun, once considered one of Xi Jinping’s closest aides, has also disappeared from public view. Zhong had served as Xi’s personal secretary since 2002, when Xi was transferred from Fujian to Zhejiang. Over the next two decades, Zhong followed Xi through postings in Shanghai and Beijing, eventually serving within the Central Military Commission for 22 years.
In 2024, reports circulated that Zhong had been reassigned to the National Defense University as political commissar. Yet Chinese authorities never formally announced either his appointment or his removal. Later reports indicated that Lieutenant General Xia Zhihe had replaced Zhong in the role.
Political commentator Lei Ge wrote that Zhong’s situation appears precarious: He has not been assigned a new position and his future remains unclear. “This is a very dangerous signal,” Lei noted, suggesting it could mark the end of Zhong’s political career.
The recent developments add to a broader pattern. Former NDU president Wang Xibin, who led the institution from 2007 to 2013, was formally investigated in 2017. His former political commissar Liu Yazhou has also reportedly received a life sentence. The cases now involves four presidents, Wang Xibin, Zheng He, Xu Xueqiang, and Xiao Tianliang, and three political commissars, Liu Yazhou, Zheng He, and Zhong Shaojun.
