Recently, the CCP’s latest bulletin from the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress for the first time disclosed the reasons behind the downfall of nine senior military generals. All of them are “suspected of serious violations of discipline and law.” Meanwhile, three senior officials from the military-industrial system were also brought down for “suspected violations of discipline and law.”
First disclosure of reasons behind the downfall of nine senior generals
On April 17, 2026, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress of the CCP released Bulletin No. 2 of 2026. In the “Report on the Qualifications of Certain Deputies,” it was revealed for the first time that the following individuals were all removed from their positions as deputies to the National People’s Congress due to “suspected serious violations of discipline and law”:
- Li Wei, former Political Commissar of the Information Support Force (General)
- Li Qiaoming, former Commander of the Army (General)
- Shen Jinlong, former Commander of the Navy (General)
- Qin Shengxiang, former Political Commissar of the Navy (General)
- Yu Zhongfu, former Political Commissar of the Air Force (General)
- Wang Donghai, former Political Commissar of the Central Military Commission’s National Defense Mobilization Department (Lieutenant General)
- Bian Ruifeng, former Assistant Director of the Political Work Department of the Central Military Commission (Major General)
- Ding Laifu, Commander of the 73rd Group Army (Major General)
- Yang Guang, former Commander of Base 64 of the Rocket Force (Major General)
Among them, on Jan. 26, 2026, the CCP Central Military Commission’s National Defense Mobilization Department held a military representatives’ meeting and removed Wang Donghai from his position as a deputy to the National People’s Congress.
On Jan.23, 2026, the Political Work Department of the Central Military Commission of the CCP convened a military representatives’ meeting and removed Bian Ruifeng from his position as a deputy to the National People’s Congress.
On Jan. 19, 2026, the CCP Army held a military representatives’ meeting and removed Li Qiaoming and Ding Laifu from their positions as deputies to the National People’s Congress.
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On Jan. 19, 2026, the CCP Rocket Force held a military representatives’ meeting and removed Yang Guang from his position as a deputy to the National People’s Congress.
On Jan. 13, 2026, the CCP Navy held a military representatives’ meeting and removed Shen Jinlong and Qin Shengxiang from their positions as deputies to the National People’s Congress.
On Jan. 9, 2026, the CCP Information Support Force held a military representatives’ meeting and removed Li Wei from his position as a deputy to the National People’s Congress.
On Dec. 22, 2025, the CCP Air Force held a military representatives’ meeting and removed Yu Zhongfu from his position as a deputy to the National People’s Congress.
Meanwhile, the “Report on the Qualifications of Certain Deputies” also disclosed for the first time that in 2021, after General Shen Jinlong stepped down as Commander of the Navy, he was reassigned as a full-time member of the Strategic Planning Committee of the Central Military Commission. After Major General Yang Guang stepped down as Commander of Base 64 of the CCP Rocket Force, he was reassigned as a full-time deputy commander of the Hubei Provincial Military District.
This inevitably brings to mind that when former Xinjiang Party Secretary Ma Xingrui was officially announced to have been removed from office, his new position was disclosed for the first time as “Deputy Head of the Central Rural Work Leading Group.”
On Feb. 26, 2026, an announcement issued after the closing of a meeting of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress showed that the qualifications of 19 NPC deputies were terminated, including the nine generals mentioned above.
Mapping the network of relationships among the fallen generals
Zhang Tianliang, U.S.-based political commentator, analyzed in his self-media program that General Li Wei, former Political Commissar of the Information Support Force, had long been engaged in political work rather than serving as a military commander. He mainly held positions such as Director of the Political Department and Deputy Political Commissar of the CCP Army’s 47th Group Army, Political Commissar of the South Xinjiang Military District, Political Commissar of the 21st Group Army, and Political Commissar and Party Committee member of the Xinjiang Military District, before later becoming the first Political Commissar of the Information Support Force.
Zhang Tianliang pointed out that Li Wei is similar to Miao Hua, former Director of the Political Work Department of the Central Military Commission, and He Weidong, former Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission of the CCP—both of whom were primarily engaged in political work. Li Wei likely had close ties with Miao Hua and may have been implicated and brought down as a result.
Li Qiaoming served as Commander of the CCP Northern Theater Command in 2016, and later became Commander of the CCP Army, being promoted to the rank of General. Zhang Tianliang noted that the Army is where Zhang Youxia, Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission, built his career. Both Li Qiaoming and Zhang Youxia participated in the Battle of Laoshan, and therefore had a very close relationship—Li is considered a trusted confidant of Zhang. However, he has not been seen for quite some time.
According to a report by CCTV News, the CCP’s official media outlet, the Central Military Commission held a ceremony at the Bayi Building in Beijing on December 23, 2024, to promote officers to the rank of General. According to pro-Beijing Hong Kong media Sing Tao Daily, four generals were absent from the ceremony, including Army Commander Li Qiaoming, former Army Political Commissar Qin Shutong, Armed Police Commander Wang Chunning, and Navy Political Commissar Yuan Huazhi.
On Dec. 23, 2024, there were posts on the X platform claiming that Li Qiaoming had been dismissed, and that internal power struggles between Xi Jinping and Zhang Youxia had intensified to a critical stage.
Zhang Tianliang pointed out that Admiral Shen Jinlong, former Commander of the Navy, came up through the CCP Navy system and naturally had close ties with Miao Hua, who also worked within the naval system.
Meanwhile, Admiral Qin Shengxiang, former Political Commissar of the Navy, served as Director of the General Office of the Central Military Commission when Xi Jinping first came to power. Entrusted by Xi, Qin also concurrently served, starting in 2016, as Director of the Office for Military Reform and Organization of the Central Military Commission. Zhang Tianliang said that Qin Shengxiang played a key role in military reforms, helping Xi transform the previous seven military regions into five theater commands, and could be considered someone Xi trusted deeply.
Zhang Tianliang believes that if this had happened a year ago, Qin Shengxiang’s downfall would have been interpreted as a sign that Xi Jinping was “finished.” However, with the official announcement of Qin’s removal now, it suggests that Xi is carrying out a “Zhu Yuanzhang-style” large-scale purge. He further noted that in 2017 Qin Shengxiang became Political Commissar of the Navy and was promoted to General in 2019. This shows that his transfer from the Central Military Commission General Office to a substantive role as Navy Political Commissar was effectively a promotion and preparation for his eventual elevation to General. However, Qin may have fallen because, as Navy Political Commissar, he had relatively close ties with Miao Hua.
Zhang Tianliang also stated that General Yu Zhongfu, former Political Commissar of the Air Force, came from the Air Force and likely did not have particularly close ties with Miao Hua, He Weidong, or even Zhang Youxia. He may have been brought down due to involvement in corruption related to the Equipment Development Department.
Zhang further predicted that in the future, it may become difficult to see official announcements about the downfall of military officials. This is because most generals have already been removed, and currently many lieutenant generals are filling positions nominally held by generals. These lieutenant generals may not be members of the National People’s Congress or the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, so even if they are removed, it is unlikely that such official announcements will be made.
Reasons for the downfall of three senior military-industrial officials revealed
On Feb. 4, 2026, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress of the CCP issued an announcement stating that three representatives from the military-industrial system—Zhou Xinmin, former chairman of AVIC; Liu Cangli, president of the China Academy of Engineering Physics; and Luo Qi, chief engineer of China National Nuclear Corporation—were removed from their positions as deputies to the National People’s Congress. However, at that time, no reasons were given for their dismissal.
In Bulletin No. 2 of 2026 issued by the NPC Standing Committee, the “Report on the Qualifications of Certain Deputies” disclosed for the first time that Zhou Xinmin, Luo Qi, and Liu Cangli were removed due to “suspected violations of discipline and law.”
Subsequently, the official website of the Chinese Academy of Engineering removed information related to academician Luo Qi, and the official website of the Chinese Academy of Sciences removed information related to academician Liu Cangli. Both Luo Qi and Liu Cangli were also removed from the list of academicians.
By Li Deyan
