General Miao Hua falls: Xi Jinping's "anti-corruption" enters a new stage

On November 28, General Miao Hua, member of the Central Military Commission of China and director of the Political Work Department of the People's Liberation Army, was suspended for "serious violations of discipline" and is under investigation. This news quickly attracted the attention of the international community. Miao Hua's fall is not only an important personnel adjustment within the PLA's top leadership, but also reflects Xi Jinping's continued purge of the military, showing the complexity of contradictions and problems within the PLA.

Miao Hua served as director of the Political Work Department of the Central Military Commission, responsible for personnel arrangements, political loyalty and ideological work in the PLA. His fall is considered part of Xi Jinping's rectification of the military. In the past 18 months, more than a dozen senior officials related to strategic forces have been investigated or arrested, including two former defense ministers Li Shangfu and Wei Fenghe.

Behind the military purge: loyalty and corruption issues are intertwined

Miao Hua's political career shows his deep military background. He has served as the political commissar of several group armies and has intersected with Xi Jinping's career in Fujian. However, even his close relationship with Xi Jinping did not save him from the purge. This shows that Xi Jinping is not only targeting the opposition in the fight against corruption, but also including his "confidants" in the scope of the purge to further consolidate his power.

The Communist Party of China has been committed to eradicating corruption within the military for more than a decade. From Guo Boxiong and Xu Caihou to the recent Li Shangfu and Wei Fenghe, the successive fall of high-level officials reflects that bribery and power transactions within the People's Liberation Army have not been eradicated. Xi Jinping's purge is not only aimed at corruption, but also to combat factional struggles and eliminate potential threats to his authority.

Chain reaction of high-level shocks: from the military to the local

Miao Hua's fall is not an isolated incident. At the same time, Zhu Zhisong, member of the Standing Committee of the Shanghai Municipal Party Committee and Secretary of the Pudong New Area Party Committee, was also investigated for "serious violations of discipline and law." Zhu Zhisong has worked in the missile and aerospace fields for a long time, and his experience is somehow related to the recent investigation of missile forces in the military.

In addition, recent rumors about the "stepping down" of the current Defense Minister Dong Jun have further sparked speculation. Although the Defense Ministry spokesman strongly denied the relevant reports, the outside world's attention to the instability of the top leaders in the Chinese military has not diminished.

The contradiction between modernization and internal problems

The PLA is at a critical stage of accelerated modernization, with China continuously increasing its military budget and advancing the development of a number of military technologies, including aircraft carriers, hypersonic weapons and stealth fighters. At the same time, China's nuclear arsenal expansion has also attracted much attention, with the number of nuclear warheads increasing from 410 to 500 in 2023 and planned to reach 1,000 in 2030. However, the advancement of modernization is in sharp contrast to internal management problems.

Dylan MH Loh, a professor at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, pointed out that although Xi Jinping has strengthened his control over the military, the problems within the PLA may be deep-seated and even systemic. Frequent high-level personnel changes not only expose corruption problems, but also show the fragility of the military's loyalty system.

Anti-corruption or power consolidation? Xi Jinping's "dual goals"

The continuation of Xi Jinping's anti-corruption campaign in the military has multiple goals. On the surface, the cleansing of corruption is to enhance the combat effectiveness and political purity of the PLA. But from a deeper analysis, anti-corruption is also a tool for power struggle to eliminate potential opposition factions. Miao Hua's fall shows that even senior officials with close ties to Xi Jinping cannot ensure long-term political security.

Since Xi Jinping came to power in 2012, there has been a large-scale personnel change in the PLA's top leadership. Through continuous purges, Xi Jinping has been able to establish a highly centralized loyalty system in the military. However, the high concentration of power also brings new challenges. Frequent purges of the military's top leadership may weaken the stability of the command system and even affect the morale of the troops.

International perspective: The impact of high-level shocks on the world

The high-level turmoil in the Chinese military is not only a domestic issue, but also has an impact on the international security landscape. As the world's second largest economy and military power, China's military modernization and nuclear weapons expansion have become the focus of international attention. However, high-level personnel instability may affect the PLA's combat effectiveness and performance in international affairs.

At the same time, the international community generally believes that Xi Jinping's consolidation of control over the military through continuous purges will further enhance his tough stance in foreign policy. Whether it is the South China Sea issue or the situation in the Taiwan Strait, the role of the PLA will become more important in the future Sino-US competition.

Where will the PLA go after the purge?

Miao Hua's fall and the shock of the PLA's top leadership are the latest signals that Xi Jinping is further controlling the military. It is foreseeable that the PLA will focus more on loyalty and execution in the future. However, it remains to be seen whether this highly centralized management model can cope with the deep-seated problems within the military.

The anti-corruption campaign will not end, but become part of Xi Jinping's long-term rule. As the modernization of the military progresses, the purge may continue in new ways. For the PLA, how to find a balance between political loyalty and actual combat effectiveness will become a key challenge for future development.