China ousts top general from elite military body as purge grows

BEIJING – China has removed a top general from the nation’s apex military body led by President Xi Jinping, as the defence establishment faces a wave of purges.

Admiral Miao Hua, 69, who oversees political loyalty in the armed forces, has been ousted from the national Central Military Commission (CMC), according to a statement from the National People’s Congress Standing Committee.

The six-man commission is the armed forces’ premier decision-making body and one of the most powerful institutions in China.

Under Mr Xi, there are two vice-chairmen serving as military leaders and three other members that included Adm Miao, who is seen as a close ally of the country’s top leader.

Adm Miao’s photo was removed from the senior leadership page of the Defence Ministry’s website.

“The Political Work Department of the Central Military Commission held a military representative conference on March 14 this year and decided to remove Miao Hua from his position as a representative of the 14th National People’s Congress,” a statement from state news agency Xinhua said.

The statement did not contain any other details, but the move marks another stage in Mr Xi’s ongoing anti-corruption purge of China’s military.

Mr Xi’s government has unseated more than a dozen senior military figures since launching a corruption investigation last summer into hardware purchases going back to 2017.

That probe resulted in the removal of China’s last two defence ministers from the Communist Party, as well as the

ouster of several officials

with ties to the secretive Rocket Force that oversees the nation’s nuclear arsenal.

Adm Miao was suspended from the CMC in 2024 as he was under investigation for “serious violations of discipline”. For the ruling Communist Party, that language typically refers to a graft probe.

In April, he was expelled from Parliament without explanation.

Adm Miao was stationed in the coastal province of Fujian when Mr Xi worked there as a local official, according to his official biography. Mr Xi personally elevated Adm Miao to the CMC.

Another CMC member and China’s second-ranking general, General He Weidong, has not been seen in public since the March 11 closing ceremony of the annual parliamentary sessions in Beijing.

Since then, he has not appeared at a series of high-level Politburo and military public engagements.

He is the third-most powerful commander of the People’s Liberation Army and is considered a close associate of Mr Xi. The Defence Ministry said in March it was “unaware” of reports he had been detained. His photo remains on the ministry’s website.

In 2024, the Defence Ministry denied reports that Defence Minister Dong Jun was being probed

on suspicion of corruption

.

He has continued to appear at public events, including the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation defence ministers’ meeting in Qingdao this week. BLOOMBERG, REUTERS